Patent Description:
In general, a hood for air cleaning that forcedly sucks smells and heat generated during cooking and discharges the smells and heat to the outside is mounted over a cooking appliance such as a gas stove.

More specifically, cabinets are typically installed at an upper portion of a wall, and the gas stove is placed on a lower portion of the wall. In addition, an exhaust case, in which an exhaust fan is mounted, is installed over the gas stove. Further, an exhaust pipe is fixed to an upper end of the exhaust case, and a flexible exhaust pipe is inserted into a vent.

In addition, if the exhaust fan installed in the exhaust case operates during cooking using the gas stove, heat of flames from the gas stove and smells generated during the cooking move upwardly and are discharged to the outside through a discharge pipe and the vent.

However, the hood for air-cleaning according to the related art has problems that it requires a large installation space, and it is not aesthetically pleasing.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a downdraft type air cleaning apparatus includes a fan motor, induces contaminated air generated from the gas stove into a downward direction of the gas stove, filters the induced contaminated air, and then discharges the filtered air.

However, the downdraft type air cleaning apparatus according to the related art has a problem that it may not efficiently separate foreign materials, such as oil and the like contained in the contaminated air, from the contaminated air.

Further, the downdraft type air cleaning apparatus according to the related art has a problem that maintenance cost is increased because a cleaning filter should periodically be changed.

Finally, the downdraft type air cleaning apparatus according to the related art has a problem that it is cumbersome to use and maintain since periodic cleaning and maintenance are required.

<CIT> relates to a process and apparatus for the removal of haze-forming constituents from wood veneer dryer effluent by condensing the haze-forming constituents, agglomerating the condensed constituents and removing them from the effluent.

<CIT> relates to an oil fume purifier comprising a cyclone separator having a plurality of water fog spray heads which are arranged in a purification chamber and which are in communication with an outlet of a water reservoir via pipes. The cyclone separator separates oil fume from the water fog and accumulates it at the bottom of the cyclone separator, from where it is exhausted by purified smoke through a central pipe.

<CIT> relates to a purifying equipment comprising a fan, a case for collecting oil fume, e.g. from a cooking stove, and a purification/recovery mechanism having a cyclone in communication with the case via a pipe for guiding the oil fume to the cyclone. The purification/recovery mechanism further comprises a water tank and water-spraying nozzle which is arranged inside the cyclone to spray water to the inner walls of the cyclone thereby purifying the oil fume.

<CIT> relates to a gas scrubbing apparatus comprising a vertical gas conduit, means to flow gases to be scrubbed upwardly through said conduit, throat forming means extending inwardly from the walls of the conduit and presenting an upwardly facing surface for restricting the upward flow of gases in said conduit and means for flowing scrubbing liquid onto said surface comprising a liquid supply conduit having an opening into said gas conduit. Furthermore, the apparatus includes a plurality of spaced nozzles and means for passing a heating fluid through said nozzles.

<CIT> relates to an exhaust-gas aftertreatment device for exhaust gas of a small combustion plant, having an agglomerator and a centrifugal separator which is positioned downstream of the agglomerator such that the exhaust gas flowing through the agglomerator flows entirely into the centrifugal separator. The centrifugal separator has an exhaust-gas recirculation device by way of which a part of the exhaust gas, after flowing through the centrifugal separator, can be conducted to the inlet region of the centrifugal separator again.

<CIT> relates to a vapor-liquid separator comprising a cylindrical separator main body, an introducing part for introducing the vapor-liquid mixed fluid into the separator main body in the tangential direction, a liquid discharging part for discharging a separated liquid, a gas exhausting part for exhausting the separated gas, a storing part for storing a liquid passed through the liquid discharging part, a stored-liquid discharging part provided in the storing part to discharge a stored liquid and a communicating part for communicating the storing part with an upstream side of a vapor-liquid separation region of the separator main body and/or the introducing part.

<CIT> relates to a separator having a cylindrical separator body, an introducing part introducing a gas-liquid mixture in a tangential direction inside the separator body, a liquid discharge part for discharging the separated liquid and a gas exhaust part exhausting the separated gas. Furthermore, the separator comprises a storage part for storing the liquid discharged from the liquid discharge part, a storage liquid discharge part arranged in the storage part for discharging the stored liquid and a baffle part arranged in the storage part for restraining the backflow of the liquid stored in the storage part to the liquid discharge part.

It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a filtering module capable of efficiently separating foreign materials, such as oil and the like contained in contaminated air, from the contaminated air by bringing the contaminated air into contact with cleaning water or vapor through an inclined cyclone.

It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a filtering module capable of reducing maintenance cost by removing foreign materials, such as oil and the like, from cleaning water or vapor from which contaminated air is cleaned, and supplying it as the cleaning water or vapor.

It is still another object of the present disclosure to provide a filtering module capable of preventing foreign materials containing oil from being deposited or fixed on an inner wall of a cyclone by cleaning contaminated air using cleaning water or vapor of a room temperature or a temperature higher than room temperature.

Objects of the present disclosure are not limited to the above-described objects, and other objects and advantages can be appreciated by those skilled in the art from the following descriptions. Further, it will be easily appreciated that the objects and advantages of the present disclosure can be practiced by means recited in the appended claims and a combination thereof.

In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, an inclined cyclone has a contaminated air inlet part into which contaminated air and cleaning water or vapor are introduced. Accordingly, the contaminated air may come into contact with the cleaning water or vapor, and foreign materials such as oil and the like contained in the contaminated air may be efficiently separated from the contaminated air by a wide contact area and flow by centrifugal force.

The cyclone includes a fluid circulating part. Accordingly, maintenance cost may be reduced since the foreign materials are removed from the cleaning water or vapor, thereby cleaning the contaminated air to be again circulated as the cleaning water or vapor,.

The fluid circulating part may include a heater to heat the cleaning water or, alternatively, includes a heater to heat the vapor to a temperature higher than the room temperature. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the foreign materials containing oil from being deposited or fixed on an inner wall of the cyclone, and the filtering module having the cyclone may be automatically cleaned by a flow of the cleaning water or vapor.

The detailed effects of the present disclosure together with the effects described above will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The terms and words used in the present specification and claims should not be construed to be limited to ordinary or dictionary meanings, but the inventors shall construe their own invention as the meaning and concept consistent with the technical ideal of the present disclosure, based on a principle that they can appropriately define the concepts of the terms to describe their own inventions in the best way. Further, since the exemplary embodiments described in the present specification and the configurations shown in the drawings are merely most preferred embodiments it should be understood that various equivalents and modifications may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

<FIG> is a view schematically showing a basic concept of a filtering module according to the present disclosure.

As shown in <FIG>, a filtering module <NUM> includes a cyclone <NUM>, a water tank <NUM>, and a fluid circulating part <NUM>.

More specifically, the cyclone <NUM> is provide to increase a contact area between contaminated air and cleaning water that cleans the contaminated air, and to efficiently separate out foreign materials such as oil and the like contained in the contaminated air using centrifugal force.

To this end, the cyclone <NUM> includes a contaminated air inlet part <NUM> into which the contaminated air containing the foreign materials such as oil and the like and the cleaning water or vapor are each introduced, and a cleaned air outlet part <NUM> through which cleaned air is discharged.

The water tank <NUM> is provided to collect the foreign materials such as oil and the like separated from the contaminated air, to discharge the collected foreign materials (shown by an alternated long and short dash line arrow), and to again provide the cleaning water or vapor to the contaminated air inlet part <NUM>. To this end, a fluid is pre-stored in the water tank <NUM>.

In other words, the contaminated air is cleaned by being in contact with the cleaning water or vapor, and the cleaning water or vapor containing the foreign materials such as oil and the like is introduced into the water tank <NUM>. The cleaning water or vapor is mixed with the pre-stored fluid. The mixed water obtained accordingly is stored in the water tank <NUM>. Here, the foreign materials contained in the cleaning water or vapor are suspended on a surface of the water by a specific gravity difference with the pre-stored fluid. The foreign materials suspended in the water tank <NUM> may be separated and discharged, and the water in a lower portion of the water tank <NUM> may be recycled.

The fluid circulating part <NUM> is provided to supply the cleaning water or vapor to the water tank <NUM> from the contaminated air inlet part <NUM> of the cyclone <NUM> by using the mixed water.

Here, in order to prevent the foreign materials containing oil from being deposited or fixed on an inner wall of the cyclone, the cleaning water or vapor is provided to the contaminated air inlet part <NUM> at room temperature or a temperature higher than room temperature.

In <FIG>, a solid line arrow shows a flow of air, and a dotted line arrow shows a flow of cleaning water or vapor.

<FIG> is a view schematically showing a filtering module according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

More specifically, the cyclone <NUM> may include a contaminated air inlet part <NUM>, a cleaned air outlet part <NUM>, and a body part <NUM>, and may be detachably coupled to the water tank <NUM>.

The body part <NUM> includes a cylindrical body <NUM>, a conical body <NUM> having a truncated lower end, and a discharging part <NUM>.

The conical body <NUM> extends in a downward direction of the cylindrical body <NUM>, and the discharging part <NUM> extends in a downward direction of the conical body <NUM>.

The cylindrical body <NUM>, the conical body <NUM>, and the discharging part <NUM> are formed integrally with each other.

The contaminated air inlet part <NUM> and the cleaned air outlet part <NUM> are connected to the cylindrical body <NUM> so as to be in communication with each other. The contaminated air inlet part <NUM> may be formed so that the contaminated air is introduced in a side direction of an upper end portion of the cylindrical body <NUM>, and the cleaned air outlet part <NUM> may be formed in the upper end portion of the cylindrical body <NUM> so that the cleaned air is discharged in an axial direction (a Z direction in <FIG>) of the cylindrical body <NUM>.

Accordingly, the contaminated air inlet part <NUM> and the cleaned air outlet part <NUM> are disposed in a direction orthogonal to each other. The cleaned air outlet part <NUM> has an extension part <NUM> formed to extend below the cylindrical body <NUM>, and the cleaned air is discharged to the outside through the extension part <NUM>.

This configuration is provided to bring the contaminated air introduced through the contaminated air inlet part <NUM> into contact with the cleaning water, to separate the foreign materials contained in the contaminated air while the contaminated air flows in the cylindrical body <NUM>, and to then discharge only the cleaned air. The extension part <NUM> is disposed to extend below the cylindrical body <NUM>.

The body part <NUM> is coupled to the water tank <NUM> to be inclined as indicated by θ in <FIG>. Accordingly, the cylindrical body <NUM> and the conical body <NUM> are disposed to be inclined about a central axis at which the cyclone <NUM> is mounted.

Accordingly, a contact area between the contaminated air introduced through the contaminated air inlet part <NUM> and the cleaning water is increased, and air and liquid are efficiently separated from each other by centrifugal force.

The conical body <NUM> is connected to the cylindrical body <NUM>, and causes the cleaning water flowing in the conical body <NUM> to flow toward the discharging part <NUM>.

The conical body <NUM> has an inner diameter which is gradually decreased from the cylindrical body <NUM> to the discharging part <NUM>.

The discharging part <NUM> is provided to supply the cleaning water flowing through the conical body <NUM> to the water tank <NUM>.

A discharging slit 1133a is formed in the discharging part <NUM> so as to easily discharge the foreign materials such as oil and the like contained in the cleaning water. The discharging part <NUM> is positioned below the surface of water of the pre-stored fluid stored in the water tank <NUM> to be in contact with the fluid pre-stored in the water tank <NUM>.

The fluid circulating part <NUM> includes a pump <NUM>, a heater <NUM>, and a connection pipe <NUM>.

The pump <NUM> is provided to produce a flow force for supplying the mixed water, in which the fluid pre-stored in the water tank <NUM> and the cleaning water are mixed, to the contaminated air inlet part <NUM>.

The heater <NUM> is provided to increase a temperature of the mixed water supplied by the pump <NUM> and to supply the mixed water as the cleaning water. Here, the temperature of the mixed water may be adjusted and an occurrence of vapor may also be adjusted by adjusting a heating time of the heater <NUM>.

Since the cleaning water is supplied at room temperature or a temperature higher than the room temperature, it prevents the oil from being coagulated or deposited on the inner wall of the cyclone <NUM>, as described above, thereby making it possible to automatically clean the inner wall of the cyclone <NUM>.

The connection pipe <NUM> interconnects the water tank <NUM>, the pump <NUM>, the heater <NUM>, and the contaminated air inlet part <NUM>.

The fluid circulating part <NUM> may include a temperature sensor <NUM> that measures the temperature of the cleaning water which is discharged from the heater <NUM>. The temperature sensor <NUM> may be provided at the contaminated air inlet part <NUM> so as to maintain a constant temperature of the cleaning water supplied to the contaminated air inlet part <NUM>.

The temperature sensor <NUM> may be mounted on the connection pipe which is adjacent to the contaminated air inlet part <NUM>.

<FIG> is a view schematically showing a filtering module according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in <FIG>, a filtering module <NUM> is different from the filtering module <NUM> shown in <FIG> only in a position of the heater.

More specifically, the filtering module <NUM> includes a cyclone <NUM>, a water tank <NUM>, and a fluid circulating part <NUM>. The cyclone <NUM> includes a contaminated air inlet part <NUM>, a cleaned air outlet part <NUM>, and a body part <NUM>.

The heater <NUM> is mounted in the water tank <NUM>, and the fluid pre-stored in the water tank <NUM> is heated by heat exchange with the heater <NUM>.

Since the same configurations are described above, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

<FIG> is a view schematically showing a filtering module according to a third exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in <FIG>, a filtering module <NUM> is different from the filtering module <NUM> shown in <FIG> only in the presence or absence of the pump.

The fluid circulating part <NUM> includes a heater <NUM> and a connection pipe <NUM>.

The heater <NUM> is provided to heat the mixed water discharged through the water tank <NUM> to generate vapor, such as steam. The connection pipe <NUM> interconnects the water tank <NUM>, the heater <NUM>, and the contaminated air inlet part <NUM>, and the vapor generated through the heater <NUM> is supplied to the contaminated air inlet part <NUM>.

<FIG> is a view schematically showing a filtering module according to a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in <FIG>, a filtering module <NUM> is different from the filtering module <NUM> shown in <FIG> only in the fluid circulating part.

The fluid circulating part <NUM> includes a valve <NUM>, a hot water tank <NUM>, and a connection pipe <NUM>.

The valve <NUM> is connected to the connection pipe <NUM> connected to the water tank <NUM>, and is disposed between the water tank <NUM> and the hot water tank <NUM>. The valve <NUM> controls the discharge of the mixed water stored in the water tank <NUM> so as to supply it to the hot water tank <NUM>.

The hot water tank <NUM> is connected to the contaminated air inlet part <NUM> of the cyclone <NUM> through the connection pipe <NUM>.

The contaminated air introduced through the contaminated air inlet part <NUM> is cleaned by being in contact with hot water supplied through the hot water tank <NUM>.

<FIG> is a schematic view of a water tank in the filtering module according to the present disclosure.

As shown in <FIG>, a water tank <NUM> has a groove part <NUM> formed in one side thereof so that the cyclone is coupled or supported thereto while having an inclined angle, and is provided with a foreign material discharging part <NUM> which may be opened and closed.

The shape of the groove part <NUM> corresponds to the cylindrical body of the cyclone.

The foreign material discharging part <NUM> may be formed to correspond to the surface of water of the fluid pre-stored in the water tank <NUM> by taking into account that the foreign materials containing oil are suspended on the surface of water of the water tank <NUM>. The groove part <NUM> and the foreign material discharging part <NUM> may be provided in any of the embodiments discussed in <FIG>.

As set forth above, according to the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, as the contaminated air is in contact with the cleaning water or vapor through the inclined cyclone, and the foreign materials such as oil and the like contained in the contaminated air are efficiently separated from the contaminated air by a flow by a wide contact area and centrifugal force, it is possible to obtain the cyclone having the improved cleaning performance and the filtering module having the same.

Further, the foreign materials such as oil and the like are removed from the cleaning water or vapor, thereby cleaning the contaminated air to be circulated as the cleaning water or vapor, so that it is possible to reduce the maintenance cost.

Claim 1:
An air filtering module (<NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>) comprising:
a cyclone (<NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>) including:
a contaminated air inlet part (<NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>) into which external contaminated air and cleaning water for cleaning the contaminated air are introduced; and
a cleaned air outlet part (<NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>) through which air is discharged after being cleaned by bringing the cleaning water into contact with the contaminated air;
a water tank (<NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>) coupled to the cyclone (<NUM>; <NUM>;
<NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>), the water tank (<NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>) being configured to receive the cleaning water from the cyclone (<NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>), and to store the cleaning water; and
a fluid circulating part (<NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>) configured to provide the cleaning water stored in the water tank (<NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>) to the contaminated air inlet part (<NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>),
wherein a central axis of the cyclone (<NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>) is inclined at an inclined angle with respect to the water tank (<NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>),
characterized in that the water tank (<NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>) further comprises:
a groove part (<NUM>) configured to receive a side of the cyclone (<NUM>) and to support the cyclone (<NUM>) at the inclined angle; and
a foreign material discharging part (<NUM>) located at a position corresponding to the surface of the cleaning water stored in the water tank (<NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>; <NUM>), the foreign material discharging part (<NUM>) being openable and closable.