Background of the Invention: The steel from which thick film printed heating elements are made at present is not the most suitable for forming the body of a steel kettle or jug, because of its poor corrosion resistance and inferior formability. In addition it is common for the heating element substrate to be thicker than lmm, whereas a jug body is typically 0.4mm or less, and making the body thicker would increase the cost and difficulty of manufacture considerably. There is therefore a need for a simple securing and sealing method to hold a thick film heating element into the base of a steel vessel. One possibility is our "Easifix" (GB-A-2 830 064), but the complexity of the seal form, which was designed to compensate for the vagaries of plastic mouldings, is not justified when used with a more compatible steel body. The Strix"Sureseal" (GB-A-2 301434) could also be used, but he need for a final pressing operation to form the wall of the upwardly facing peripheral groove adds to the cost of this system, and the form of the heating element is more complex.

Objects and Summary of the Invention: It is thus the principal object of the present invention to overcome or at least substantially reduce the abovementioned problem.

According to the present invention, a generally planar disc-shaped heating element is pressed into an accommodating formation which cups the heating element periphery and a seal is interposed between the heating element periphery and the cup formation. To ensure that the heating element is sufficiently well retained, for example so that it will not be displaced if the vessel is dropped when filled with liquid, clips may if desired be provided at spaced apart locations around the heating element periphery.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is described hereinafter in which a rubber seal of a simple cylindrical form, like a rubber band, is stretched around the edge of a flat disk-shaped heating element. This assembly is then pressed into a cup like formation in the base of the vessel, the lip of which may be turned slightly inwards to assist retention. The formation on the base of the vessel may simply be pressed into the steel during forming, the superior formability of a 300 series stainless steel helping here. Unlike the groove formation of the"Sureseal", which has to be formed onto the element substrate, this cup form does not form any part of the manufacture of the element itself. Sealing is effected by the simple compression of the rubber ring, and by suitable sizing of the ring, of the heating element diameter and of the inside diameter of the cup formation. If the fit is tight enough it may be sufficient in itself to retain the element in

place, but it is preferred as abovementioned to add a number of clips which fit over the cup wall and act to grip the seal when tightened.

The above and further features of the present invention are set forth in the appended claims and will be made clear from consideration of the following detailed description which is given with reference to the accompany drawings.

Description of the Drawings : Figure 1 is a side elevation view showing the bottom part of a liquid heating vessel; Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view on the line B... B in Figure 1; Figure 3 is an enlargement of that part of Figure 2 which is bounded by the circle C; Figure 4 shows the seal arrangement only of Figure 3; and Figure 5 shows the clip that is used to retain the heating element in perspective view.

Detailed Description of the Embodiment: The embodiment that is illustrated in the accompanying drawings is a plastics bodied water heating kettle or jug in which a thick film heating element is secured within an annular mounting by means of the present invention and the annular mounting is, in turn, secured in the vessel body by means of our"Easifix"invention which is the subject of GB-A-2 330 064. It is however to be appreciated that the annular mounting, or at least the part thereof that co-operates with the heating element, could be formed integrally

with a stainless steel vessel body or could be attached thereto in a separate operation.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2 and the enlarged showing of Figure 3, a plastics material jug body 1 has a stainless steel cover section 2 which bridges the join between the body 1 and a plastics material jug bottom 9. A thick film heating element 8 is secured in the vessel by means of a stainless steel mounting ring 5 which in turn is secured in the vessel by the Otter"Easifix" method, the"Easifix"seal being designated 3 and the"Easifix"circlip being designed 4. Reference may be made to GB-A-2 330 064 for a full description of the"Easifix"system. A seal 7 which is in the form of a simple rectangular cross-section, cylindrical member (like a rubber band) is stretched around the periphery of the heating element 8 and the heating element 8 with its seal 7 fits tightly into a cup-shaped formation 11 provided in the mounting ring 5.

As will be explained in more detail in the following, the vessel bottom 9 is secured in place by means of a plurality of screw fittings (not shown) which locate in cylindrical posts 12 and co-operate with spring metal clips 6 which engage with the heating element mounting ring 5 and also, when the screw fittings are tightened, serve to retain the heating element 8. A schematically illustrated heating element overtemperature protection control cum 360° connector inlet 10 is secured between the heating element 8 and the vessel bottom 9 and might, for example, comprise one of Otter Controls X4 series controls which are substantially as described in WO-A-9954903.

As shown most clearly in Figure 4, the heating element mounting ring 5 has a substantially vertical outer wall 13 with an outwardly-turned flange 14 at its bottom end, these being provided for co-operating with the"Easifix" seal 3. At its upper end, the wall 13 turns inwardly and downwardly so as to define an inwardly sloping surface 15 which, at its innermost edge turns downwardly and then reverses upon itself and curves downwardly at 16,17 and 18 respectively to define the cupping formation 11 which engages with the heating element 8 and its seal 7. If desired, the vertically depending part 18 could curve inwardly by a small amount insufficient to present any difficulty as regards insertion of the heating element 8 and seal 7.

The spring fixing clip 6 is shown in Figure 3 in relaxed condition, ie. prior to tightening of the fixing screw, and in Figure 4 in tightened condition, ie. after tightening of the fixing screw. Figure 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the clip. As shown, the clip 6 has a hooked portion 19 which is shaped complementarily to the parts 16,17 and 18 of the mounting ring 5 so as to engage with the mounting ring 5 as shown in Figure 4. The hooked portion 19 connects to a generally horizontal portion 20 via a U-shaped part 21 which, as explained hereinafter, acts as a stop abutment. The horizontal portion 20 has an opening 22 for engagement with the fixing screw. A further horizontal portion 23 underlies the portion 20 and has an opening 24 underlying the opening 22 and sized to provide clearance from the fixing screw. The portion 23 is a cantilever and at its free end has an upwardly and

inwardly bent portion 25 which terminates with a small spacing from the shank of the hooked portion 19.

With the heating element 8 and seal 7 engaged with the cupping portion 11 of the heating element mounting ring 5, the fixing clips 6 can be placed as shown in Figure 3, it being appreciated that the mounting ring 5 need not be assembled with the vessel at this stage. Using the"Easifix" system, the heating element/seal/mounting ring/clips sub-assembly may then be inserted into the vessel. The base 9 is then fitted, any adjustment of the clips 6 that might be necessary to ensure their proper registry with the posts 12 of the vessel bottom 9 being readily accomplished by sliding them around the fixing ring 5. When the fixing screws are inserted and tightened, the cantilever portion 23 of the spring clips is urged upwardly into abutment with the bottom of the U-shaped part 21 and the portion 25 moves into compressing contact with the bottom edge of the seal 7 so as to deform it under the edge of the heating element 8 as shown in Figure 4.

The invention having been described in the foregoing by reference to a specific embodiment, it is to be well understood that the embodiment is in all respects exemplary and that modifications and variations thereto are possible without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. For example, whereas the invention has been described in the foregoing by reference to the mounting of a thick film heating element in a vessel, other kinds of generally planar heating elements could be assembled with vessels in the same manner; for example another kind of heating element which can be fitted in accordance with the teachings of the present invention comprises a plate having clamped or otherwise assembled to the underside thereof an otherwise conventional sheathed heating element.