Patent ID: 9587839
Date: 2017-03-07
CPC Classifications: B08B,F24C,F24F

Claim:
1. An autonomous ventilation system, comprising: a variable-speed exhaust fan removing an air contaminant from an area; a controller coupled to the variable-speed exhaust fan and adjusting the speed of the exhaust fan; an exhaust hood coupled to the exhaust fan, the exhaust hood directing the air contaminant to the exhaust fan; and an infrared radiation (“IR”) sensor coupled to the controller, the IR sensor observing a cooking zone associated with cooking equipment beneath the exhaust hood and thereby detecting a change in IR index in said cooking zone, and communicating information relating to detected changes in IR index to the controller, wherein the exhaust hood is located above the cooking equipment, the controller monitors an energy level of the cooking equipment based on the detected changes in IR index in the cooking zone, the controller adjusts the speed of the variable-speed exhaust fan from off to a predetermined idle speed when the detected changes in IR index in the cooking zone indicate that one or more pieces of the cooking equipment have been turned on, the controller detects a decrease of the IR index in said cooking zone based on observations from the IR sensor, the controller adjusts the speed of the variable-speed exhaust fan to a first speed greater than the predetermined idle speed in response to the detected decrease in the IR index in said cooking zone observed by the IR sensor, and the controller turns off the variable-speed exhaust fan when detected changes in IR index in the cooking zone indicate that the cooking equipment has been turned off.