Gas separation: apparatus – With control means responsive to sensed condition for... – Gas cutoff or diversion
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-09
2002-02-05
Smith, Duane (Department: 1724)
Gas separation: apparatus
With control means responsive to sensed condition for...
Gas cutoff or diversion
C096S135000, C096S400000, C096S402000, C096S421000, C055S320000, C055S323000, C055S326000, C055S343000, C055S357000, C055S429000, C055S462000, C055S467000, C055S483000, C055S485000, C055S487000, C055SDIG003, C126S29900R, C126S29900R
Reexamination Certificate
active
06344074
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to air filtration units, particularly those employed in removing grease and excessive heat from an interior location surrounding a food preparation equipment. The present invention more particularly relates to a combination equipment hood enclosure with grease entrapment units and an air scrubber assembly positioned at a remote location downstream from an outlet of the hood enclosure, the scrubber assembly including multiple stage filters for further conditioning the outlet airstream from the hood and for permitting reintroduction of the airstream within an interior location of the structure within which the assembly is arranged.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Ventilation and ventilation exhaust systems are known in the art for use with conventional cooking appliances, which tend to produce significant amounts of heat, airborne grease and smoke. It is known in the industry to provide varying kinds of ventilation hoods for use with such cooking appliances to quickly evacuate the excess heat and smoke and which is often heavily saturated with the hot airborne grease and grease vapor.
Applicants' copending application Ser. No. 09/191,184, filed Nov. 13, 1998, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,041,774, teaches an overhead ventilation hood for a ventilation system of such a conventional cooking appliance. The hood includes a housing with a planar base surface and a recessed interior arrayed in a downwardly facing manner which is defined by a first side, a second spaced apart side, a first interconnecting end and a second interconnecting end. Intake and exhaust openings are formed through the housing proximate the first and second sides and the ventilation system further includes a first blower mounted in communication with a first length of ductwork extending to the intake opening to provide a stream of pressurized intake air and a second blower mounted in communication with a second length of ductwork extending from the exhaust opening to provide a stream of pressurized exhaust air. A supply plenum chamber is established along the first side of the housing interior and includes elongate and planar shaped channeling walls and a planar shaped diffuser for regulating a flow of the stream of the pressurized air into a central open interior of the housing. An exhaust plenum chamber is established along the second side of the housing interior and includes an elongate planar shaped and angularly mounted filter. Combination of heat, airborne grease and smoke are issued upwardly from the cooking appliance within the open interior of the hood and are discharged through the filter and within the stream of exhaust air concurrent with intermixing with the regulated flow of the stream of intake air. An elongate and planar shaped deflector extends in proximity to a bottom edge of the angularly disposed filter at a further specified angular orientation and causes a deflected stream of exhaust air to be redirected towards the filter for evacuation from the housing.
A further example of an overhead ventilation system, cited as Applicants' copending application Ser. No. 09/191,174, filed Nov. 13, 1998, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,041,772, discloses a housing with a planar base surface and a recessed interior arrayed in a downwardly facing manner and which is defined by a first side, a second side, a first interconnecting end and a second interconnecting end. Intake and exhaust openings are formed through the housing proximate the first and second sides. The ventilation system includes a first blower mounted in communication with a first length of ductwork extending to the intake opening to provide a stream of pressurized intake air and a second blower mounted in communication with a second length of ductwork extending from the exhaust opening to provide a stream of pressurized exhaust air. A supply plenum chamber is established along the first side of the housing interior and includes first and second planar shaped channeling walls and a planar shaped diffuser for regulating a flow of the stream of pressurized air into a central open interior of the housing. The diffuser includes fixed grid members and spaced apart and pivotal blade members to adjust an airflow through the plenum chamber. An exhaust plenum chamber is established along the second side of the housing interior and includes an elongate planar shaped and angularly mounted filter. Combinations of heat, airborne grease and smoke are issued upwardly from the cooking appliance within the open interior of the hood and are discharged through the filter and within the stream of exhaust air concurrent with intermixing with the regulated flow of the stream of intake air.
A more specific situation often encountered in overhead ventilation assemblies, and which is not particularly addressed by such hood assemblies as described above, is where, out of necessity, the exhaust stream issued from the exhaust plenum chamber must be reintroduced into an internal environment as opposed to being evacuated or vented outside of the structure within which the cooking appliance is situated. This is most often encountered in situations such as where the cooking appliance is located within a ground or lower level of a multi-story building. Most of the existing local codes for such assemblies require that an upwardly extending exhaust line be installed from the exhaust chamber of the hood to the top of the building structure for venting. When considering the cost of running such a length of pipe, which may extend upwardly many feet in view of the relatively great heights of some multi-story structures, combined with the requirements of one or more blowers located at intermediate and/or end locations between the oven hood and the top of the structure, the cost of external venting in such applications, and as is conventionally known, has been found to be prohibitively expensive.
Referring to U.S. Pat. No. 4,902,316, issued to Giles, Sr. et al, an attempt has been made to construct an apparatus for cooking food in a conventional oven having a conveyor and including a ventless exhaust system in which a fan pulls heated air through a filter system including an aluminum filter, an electrostatic precipitator, and a charcoal filter. Giles discloses then being able to recirculate the cleaned air within the building space in which the oven is located.
While the oven and ventless exhaust system of Giles has been found to be useful for removing grease and moisture-laden heated air, as stated in its disclosure, it has been found that such a system suffers from a number of shortcomings, among them being the ability to quickly and effectively change or replace the filters and the relative inefficiency of the electrostatic precipitator in removing grease and other airborne particles.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The present invention is a ventless air scrubber assembly which is an improvement over the prior art in that it provides for significant cleaning and reconditioning of smoke, grease and odor laden air produced by a conventional cooking appliance. The scrubber assembly according to the present invention is effective to the degree that the reconditioned air may be reintroduced to an interior location of the structure, this being especially advantageous in situations where the cooking appliance is located in a ground or lower level of a multi-story structure, and where relevant ordinance codes would otherwise require the installation of lengthy and expensive upward venting lines and impeller assemblies in order to conventionally vent such byproducts of the cooking appliance.
A ventilation hood is arrayed in an overhanging manner above the cooking appliance and includes a recessed and downwardly facing interior which is defined by a planar base surface, a first extending side, a second spaced apart and extending side, a first interconnecting end and a second interconnecting end. The hood further includes an intake and an exhaust and at least one vapor proof and incandes
Kolecki Gregory
Ward John M.
EVS, Inc.
Gifford, Krass, Groh Sprinkle, Anderson & Citkowski, P.C.
Greene Jason M.
Smith Duane
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