Air flow management for cooking system
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current recirculating ventilation systems in cooking environments face challenges such as difficult-to-clean internal components, noise from high-speed fans, and the need for expensive structural modifications for installation, as well as cumbersome cleaning processes due to incompatible sizes and shapes of components.
Innovation Solution
The proposed solution includes a recirculating ventilation system with removable and accessible components like grease filters, particulate removal systems, and UV treatment systems, designed for easy cleaning and noise reduction, featuring radiused internal corners, modular designs, and acoustic dampening techniques, allowing for efficient grease and particulate removal and noise mitigation without roof modifications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a recirculating ventilation system is installed without structural modifications, then installation cost is reduced, but cleaning accessibility of internal components deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The ventilation system is divided into modular components including removable grease filters, particulate removal systems, and UV treatment systems. Each component can be independently accessed and removed for cleaning, solving the accessibility problem while maintaining the compact recirculating design that avoids structural modifications.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces vertical stacking of ventilation components within the cooking appliance structure, utilizing the vertical dimension to organize filters and treatment systems. This allows easy front-access removal of components without requiring disassembly of the entire appliance, thus maintaining low installation cost while improving cleaning accessibility.
2Productivity
If high-speed fans are used for effective exhaust removal, then ventilation efficiency is improved, but noise level increases
Solution Approach 1:
Acoustic dampening materials are introduced as intermediary elements between the high-speed fan and the surrounding environment. These materials absorb and reduce noise generated by the fan while allowing the fan to operate at high speeds for effective ventilation, thus resolving the contradiction between ventilation efficiency and noise level.
3Reliability
If multiple treatment systems (particulate removal, UV treatment, ion generation) are integrated, then air quality improvement is enhanced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple air treatment functions (particulate removal, UV treatment, ion generation) are merged into a single integrated ventilation duct system. The components are stacked vertically and share common mounting structures and airflow paths, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining comprehensive air quality improvement capabilities.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design enhances cleaning accessibility, reduces noise, and provides cost savings by eliminating the need for structural modifications, while effectively capturing and treating cooking exhausts, improving air quality and operational efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a fan disposed within the ventilation duct, the fan being configured to pull the cooking exhaust through the inlet aperture and the ventilation duct
Implementation Method 2
an ultraviolet (UV) treatment system disposed within the ventilation duct
Implementation Method 3
an ion generator disposed within the ventilation duct
Data Source
AI summary
Examples are disclosed that relate to cooking systems with internal ventilation systems. One example provides a cooking system comprising a cooking appliance, a ventilation duct comprising an inlet aperture configured to receive cooking exhaust, a fan disposed within the ventilation duct, the fan being configured to pull the cooking exhaust through the inlet aperture and the ventilation duct, a particulate removal system positioned within the ventilation duct between the inlet aperture and the fan, and a grease containment pan disposed beneath the particulate removal system and comprising a mount for supporting the particulate removal system, the grease containment pan being removable from the ventilation duct by a user for cleaning.