Patent Publication Number: US-6036736-A

Title: Ventilating method and apparatus

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS 
     This application is related to our co-pending Design Patent application Ser. No. 29/078,795 filed Oct. 31, 1997. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     I. Field of the Invention 
     This invention is in the general field of ventilating systems; 
     The invention is more particularly in the field of ventilator hoods which may be used for independent ventilation of a space, or for fumes to be removed resulting from use of appliances such as ovens or fumes resulting from any activity; 
     The invention is even more particularly directed to such a ventilating system with fire suppression means. 
     II. Description of the Prior Art 
     There have been so many ventilating systems that it is not feasible to list them all. The present invention is unique in that it combines certain ventilating methods and apparatus into a unique combination including a special mounting plate allowing it to be mounted on certain types of equipment such as ovens and the like, and, also to mount upon any desired surface or framework and a fire suppression system operated by unique fail-safe mechanisms. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     There are numerous uses for ventilating systems. Ventilating systems are needed in such places as restaurants, bakeries, kitchens of all natures, industrial situations such as plating, and numerous others too numerous to mention. 
     There have been many ventilating systems developed in the past. However a problem area has been an unsatisfied need for a safe, efficient, and universal ventilating system combining special mounting means to adapt directly to other equipment such as ovens or the like, safe and efficient fire suppression, and effective automatic and manual operating features. 
     We have now solved the problem. We have accomplished this by providing a unique ventilating system incorporating special impurity trapping elements, a fire suppression system with unique automatic and manual activating means, and a unique mounting plate for mounting in cooperation with fume generating equipment. 
     It is an object of this invention to provide a ventilating system incorporating a safe fire suppression system; 
     It is another object of this invention to provide such a ventilating system with a unique mounting arrangement to mount on various fume generating equipment; 
     Another object of this invention is to provide a ventilating system incorporating impurity collecting means; 
     Still another object of this invention is to provide a ventilating system incorporating means to indicate the condition of incorporated filters. 
     The foregoing and other objects and advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the description of a preferred embodiment in conjunction with a review of the appended drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective of the left front showing an apparatus suitable to practice the method of this invention in place over a fume generating oven; 
     FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the apparatus of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a schematic left side view with the left side cover removed showing the air flow through the apparatus of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is an enlarged, partially broken away, schematic view of the filter indicating switches of the apparatus of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 5 is a schematic top plan view with the cover removed showing the blower, fire suppression arrangement and certain switching; 
     FIG. 6 is an enlarged partial plan of the rear of the apparatus of figure one broken away to show the fire suppression linkage; 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective of the right rear of the apparatus of FIG. 1; and 
     FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the device of FIG. 1 which will be understood by those skilled in the art. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     We will first list an inventory of all of the reference numerals used on the appended drawings: 
     Numeral Description 
     10 base surface 
     11 oven 
     11a oven electrical and control housing 
     20 adapter plate 
     21 adapter plate lip 
     22 front grease baffle catch trays 
     22a rear grease baffle catch trays 
     23 adapter plate lip 
     24 front ventilator hood adapter plate mounting flange 
     24a rear ventilator hood adapter plate mounting flange 
     25 adapter plate mounting element 
     30 ventilator hood 
     31 front grease baffle drain plate 
     31a rear grease baffle drain plate 
     32 openings in front grease baffle catch trays 
     32a openings in rear grease baffle catch trays 
     33 left side panel 
     33a upper left side panel 
     34 front panel 
     35 right side panel 
     35a upper right side panel 
     36 rear panel 
     36a fusible link mounting bracket 
     40 front grease baffle filter 
     40a front grease baffle filter switch 
     41 HEPA filter 
     41a HEPA filter switch 
     41b HEPA filter tension pin 
     42 charcoal filter 
     42a charcoal filter switch 
     42b charcoal filter tension pin 
     43 vent space beneath hood 
     45 front grease filter baffle switch activator 
     46 rear grease filter baffle switch activator 
     48 rear grease baffle filter 
     48a rear grease baffle filter switch 
     50 ventilator hood activation switch 
     51 ventilator power on indicator light 
     52 check filter indicator light 
     53 replace filters indicator light 
     54 service required indicator light 
     80 blower assembly 
     81 air flow path indicators 
     82 blower air outlet 
     85 electrical wiring conduit 
     86 power cord 
     90 insulating chamber 
     91 exhaust outlet 
     92 opening in exhaust outlet blower outlet 
     93 exhaust stack 
     99 exhaust stack outlet in cover 
     100 top cover chamber 
     102 fire extinguisher 
     103 fire extinguisher handle 
     105 fire extinguisher handle tension device 
     110 extinguisher fluid conduit 
     111 extinguisher fluid discharge orifice 
     120 manual fire extinguisher activator 
     121 manual fire extinguisher cable 
     122 fire extinguisher release pin 
     130 air vacuum switch assembly 
     135 fire extinguisher release cable 
     135a cable connection to fusible link 
     136 fusible link 
     136a fusible link connection to mounting bracket 
     137 fire extinguisher release cable conduit 
     FIG. 1 shows a ventilator hood suitable to practice the method of this invention. In FIG. 1 the ventilator hood, generally 30, is shown mounted to an adapter plate 20 by means of front and rear adapter plate mounting flanges 24 and 24a. The adapter plate fits onto an oven 11, which is equipped with customary electrical and control mechanisms 11a. The oven rest on base surface, such as a floor, 10. This ventilator hood is shown in this configuration for illustration only. By use of our special adapter plate, the ventilator hood and method this invention could be mounted and used entirely independently of an appliance or on a variety of ovens and other types of fume producing equipment. Adapter plate 20 has a front lip 21 and rear lip 23 as indicated. The Adapter plate 20 has two mounting elements 25 and 27. This combination results in a perfect fit of the ventilator hood to oven 11 or other fume producing apparatus. 
     Sloping front and rear grease baffle drain plates 31 and 31a allow contaminants such as grease, chemicals, or the like to drain into front and rear grease catch trays 22 and 22a through openings 32 and 32a. 
     The exterior of the ventilator hood is formed by the adapter plate 20 on the bottom with a vent space 43, a cover chamber 100 on the top, left side panel 33, upper left side panel 33a, right side panel 35, upper right side panel 35a, front panel 34, and rear panel 36. 
     Front grease baffle filter 40 and rear grease baffle filter 48 are provided as shown. HEPA filter 41 and charcoal filter 42 are installed within the hood as shown. 
     The filters are all mounted in a unique manner between switches and tension pins as shown. The front and rear grease baffles are mounted between switches 40a and 48a and activators 45 and 46. The HEPA filter is mounted between switch 41a and tension pin 41b. The charcoal filter is mounted between switch 42a and tension pin 42b. With this mounting arrangement, if a filter is not in place, the hood may be disabled or it may display a warning such as the various filter attention lights 52, 53, and 54. Other controls include the ventilator hood activation switch 50, and power on indicator 51. 
     The blower assembly 80 and fire extinguisher 102 are located within the top cover chamber 100 as shown. The blower is a commonly known blower powered by an electrical motor in customary fashion known to those skilled in the art. The blower air outlet 82 feeds through exhaust outlet 91 and opening 92 into exhaust stack 93 and out exhaust stack outlet 99 in the cover. The exhaust stack has an insulating chamber 91 to keep the exterior of the cover relatively cool at the stack area. 
     In FIG. 3 the air flow path is indicated by the arrows 81. 
     Electrical wiring conduit 85 and power cord 86 supply the necessary electrical power to the unit. 
     For fire suppression we prefer the Ansul Stored Pressure Wet Agent Fire Suppression System (Ansul Fire Protection, One Stanton Street, Marinette, Wis. 54143-2542). Other fire protection systems installed in a manner similar to that shown and described in this application might be used. We do not intend to be limited by this feature. The fire extinguisher 102 has handle 103 fastened to tension device 105 in a manner known to those skilled in the art. We have connected the fire extinguisher discharge nozzle to a conduit 110 which runs within the cover 100 and out the side as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7. This conduit terminates in a discharge orifice at 111 adjacent the rear of the oven. The fire extinguisher can be activated by failure of a fusible link 136 mounted at 136a between mounting bracket 36a and fire extinguisher release cable 135 (housed in cable conduit 137) through cable connection 135a. The extinguisher can also be activated by manually pulling on the manual activator 120 which removes the extinguisher release pin 122 by use of the cable 121. 
     In FIG. 5 the air vacuum switch assembly is shown. Through this assembly, the vacuum switches each have a high and a low side. When a balance exists between the high and low sides, the system is operating properly. In the event improper filtration exists, the vacuum switch may shut down the unit and a &#34;service required&#34; light may be activated. When the small vacuum switch senses a substantial drop in air flow, the &#34;replace filter&#34; light may be activated. At this point, the unit will continue to function. If the air flow is restricted beyond the normal filtration limits, the large vacuum switch can cause a full shut down of the ventilator hood. 
     FIG. 8 is a schematic which will be understood by those skilled in the art. 
     The drawings and description above have included identical (mirror image) front and rear filtering arrangements. It is to be understood that a single filtering arrangement (either the front or rear) could be used effectively. In that event, the grease baffle drain plate would slope downwardly from the rear of a single unit to the front, with a single pair of grease catch trays. Another qualification is that there is no actual necessity of two grease catch trays either in the dual filtering system shown in the drawings, or in the single filtering system described here. It is not intended that any such limitation be considered or implied. 
     The various items referred to in the inventory of reference numerals are not to be taken as limiting. For example, grease filters are referred to. It is understood that certain other contaminate filters could be used. Blower has been referred to, this would include such items as fans and the like. 
     While the embodiments of this invention shown and described are fully capable of achieving the objects and advantages desired, such embodiments are for purposes of illustration only, and not for purposes of limitation.