Impact filter with grease trap
AssigneeIllinois Tool Works Inc.
InventorsKui-Chiu Kwok, Russell Robison
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An impact filter suitable for a kitchen exhaust hood is provided with a grease trap to capture grease particles and channel the particles away. The trap can be of different configurations. The filter can be used in various processes to clean air streams, such as filtering processes for removing grease and other cooking exhaust particles and other processes for removing grease particles.
Claims18
A process to clean an air stream having particles of different sizes entrained therein, said process comprising:
- first removing a substantial portion of larger particles from the air stream by passing the air stream through an impact filter, including accelerating the air stream and particles to substantially similar velocities, directing the accelerated air stream and particles toward an impact surface, and separating the particles into classified steams of particles redirected by the impact surface;
- and
- thereafter removing a substantial portion of the smaller particles from the air stream by at least one of passing the air stream and the remaining particles from the impact filter through an electrostatic precipitator, passing the air stream and the remaining particles from the impact filter past a source of UV light, and passing the air stream and the remaining particles from the first mentioned impact filter through a second impact filter.
An air filtering process for removing grease and other cooking exhaust particles from an air stream having a first set of the cooking exhaust particles each having a mass of at least a specified mass, and a second set of the cooking exhaust particles each having a mass below the specified mass, individual particles of the first and second sets of particles being randomly dispersed in the air stream;
- said air filtering process comprising:
- accelerating the air stream with the first and second sets of cooking exhaust particles entrained therein;
- directing the accelerated air stream with the first and second sets of particles entrained therein toward a surface and thereby diverting the first and second sets of particles relative to the surface and grouping the particles in separate current streams relative to the surface, with a first current stream nearest the surface including a substantial portion of the first set of particles and relatively few of the second set of particles, and a second current stream more distant from the surface including relatively few of the first set of particles and a substantial portion of the second set of particles;
- and
- separating the currents by directing a substantial portion of the first current into a trough having a bottom and a portion of the trough extending from the bottom toward the surface between the first and second currents.
A process to remove grease particles from an air stream, said process comprising:
- directing the air stream and grease particles toward a surface;
- impacting at least some of the grease particles against the surface;
- accumulating the grease particles as a layer on the surface;
- and
- moving the layer along the surface toward a trough for accumulating the grease particles.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.