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(11) | EP 2 835 591 A1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
| published in accordance with Art. 153(4) EPC |
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| (54) | HOOD SYSTEM HAVING BUILT-IN ROTOR |
| (57) The present invention relates to a hood system having a built-in rotor, capable of
discharging contaminated gas generated by a source of contamination in a timely manner
so as to prevent the contamination of indoor air in advance. The hood system having
a built-in rotor comprises a housing, an exhaust fan, said rotor, and a discharge
unit. The housing is arranged on top of the contamination source, and the lower side
thereof has an inlet port for feeding in contaminated gas. The exhaust fan is arranged
inside the housing, and rotates by means of a rotation-driving device so as to forcibly
exhaust the contaminated gas. The rotor rotates together with the exhaust fan to prevent
the contaminated gas from diffusing into an indoor area. The discharge unit is arranged
on an upper surface of the housing so as to discharge the contaminated gas suctioned
by the exhaust fan to the outside. |
[Technical Field]
[0001] The following description relates to a hood system with a built-in rotor, which rapidly draws in contaminated gas generated while cooking and removes the gas to the outside.
[Background Art]
[0002] A range hood system is generally a device that is installed to prevent contamination of indoor air by timely releasing air pollutants, such as heat and odors caused while cooking various foods, smoke caused by combustion, exhaust gas, waste gas, steam, and the like. Such range hood is being widely used as users' awareness about health is increasing.
[0003] However, a conventional range hood system includes only a cross-flow fan in a range hood housing that simply absorbs air, such that the system may not rapidly remove air to the outside, failing to eliminate oil containing steam caused while cooking foods, and gases mixed with exhaust gas from combustion materials.
[0004] Further, a limited installation height of the range hood causes some of contaminated gases to diffuse before being suctioned by a fan, thereby doing harm to the health of users, and creating unpleasant living environment, which makes some users reluctant to use the system while cooking.
[Disclosure]
[Technical Problem]
[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a hood system with a built-in rotor, in which the rotor installed in the hood system may rapidly absorb contaminated gas generated while cooking and discharge the contaminated gas to the outside.
[Technical Solution]
[0006] In one general aspect, there is disclosed a hood system with a built-in rotor that prevents indoor air contamination by timely discharging contaminated gas generated by a pollution generating device, the system including: a housing that is disposed at an upper end of a pollution generating device, and that includes an inlet at a lower side through which contaminated gas is drawn in; an exhaust fan that is installed inside the housing, and rotates by a rotational drive device to forcibly discharge contaminated gas; a rotor that rotates with the exhaust fan to prevent the contaminated gas from being spread; and a discharge portion that is installed on an upper surface of the housing, and that discharges the contaminated gas suctioned by the exhaust fan.
[Effect of the Invention]
[0007] According to the present disclosure, the hood system with a built-in rotor has an extended axis of a rotational drive device, and a rotor is installed in the extended axis, such that the hood system may rapidly absorb contaminated gas generated by a pollution generating device, and may produce a curtain effect to prevent contaminated gas to diffuse to the outside.
[0008] Further, by forming a plurality of holes in a body portion of the rotor, contaminated gas flowing into the rotor may be forcibly discharged through the holes, enabling a more efficient curtain effect.
[0009] In addition, as a rotor may be additionally installed to a conventional range hood system, there is no need to change the whole system, and installation costs may be reduced.
[Brief Description of Drawings]
[0010]
FIG. 1 is a view illustrating an example of a hood system with a built-in rotor according to an exemplary embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a view illustrating an exhaust fan extracted from FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a rotor extracted from FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of FIG. 3.
FIGS. 5 to 7 are views illustrating another example of a second blade in FIG. 4.
FIG. 8 is a view illustrating pressure distribution in FIG. 1 in a case where there is no rotor.
FIG. 9 is a view illustrating pressure distribution in FIG. 1 that is changed by rotation of a rotor.
FIG. 10 is a view illustrating an exhaust velocity of contaminated gas discharged by a hood system in FIG. 8 in a space between an exhaust fan and a pollution generating device.
FIG. 11 is a view illustrating an exhaust velocity of contaminated gas discharged by a hood system in FIG. 9 in a space between an exhaust fan and a device of contamination sources.
FIG. 12 is a view illustrating another example of holes in FIG. 4.
FIG. 13 is a view illustrating another example of a first and a second blades in FIG. 4.
[Best Mode of the Invention]
[0011] The invention is described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown.
[0012] FIG. 1 is a view illustrating an example of a hood system with a built-in rotor according to an exemplary embodiment.
[0013] As illustrated in FIG. 1, the hood system 100 with a built-in rotor is a device that timely releases contaminated gas generated by a pollution generating device 10 to the outside to prevent contamination of indoor air.
[0014] The hood system 100 with a built-in rotor includes a housing 110, an exhaust fan 120, a rotor 130, and a discharge portion 140.
[0015] The housing 110 is disposed on an upper side of the pollution generating device 10, and has an inlet 111, through which contaminated gas generated by the pollution generating device 10 flows in, is formed at a lower side of the housing 110.
[0016] The housing 110 may be made of a stainless steel material, which is a special steel with lower carbon and excellent corrosion resistance compared to other metals, and has good mechanical properties with high electrical resistance, low heat conductivity, and the same strength as aluminum, although a thickness of stainless steel is only a third of aluminum. Further, for its hardness, the stainless steel has good processability, and soldering may be performed, thereby enabling a rapid process.
[0017] Materials of the housing 110 may vary depending on structures and purposes of usage of the hood system 100 with a built-in rotor.
[0018] The exhaust fan 120 is installed in the housing 110, and is connected to a rotational drive device 121. Accordingly, if the rotational drive device 121 rotates, the exhaust fan 120 also rotates with the rotational drive device 121 to forcibly remove contaminated gas. The rotational drive device 121 may be a motor.
[0019] The rotor 130 is installed on an identical axis of the exhaust fan 120, and rotates with the exhaust fan 120 by the rotational drive device 121 to absorb contaminated gas, thereby preventing contaminated gas to spread to the inside. The rotor 103 may be installed in an axis extended from the rotational drive device 121. The rotor 130 may be installed in addition to a conventional range hood system, such that the whole range hood system may not be changed, reducing installation costs.
[0020] The discharge portion 140 is installed on an upper surface of the housing 110, and guides contaminated gas to the outside. For example, once contaminated gas generated by the pollution generating device 10 flows in the inlet 111 by the rotor 130, the exhaust fan 120 discharges the flowing contaminated gas through the discharge portion 140 to the outside.
[0021] As described above, the hood system 100 with a built-in rotor has an extended axis of the rotational drive device 121, and the rotor 130 is installed on the extended axis, such that contaminated gas generated by the pollution generating device 100 may be absorbed rapidly. Further, the rotor 130 may be additionally installed to a conventional range hood system, such that the whole system is not needed to be changed, reducing installation costs.
[0022] The housing 110 may be formed in a cone shape with a narrower top and a wider bottom, so that exhaust efficiency may be improved by using wind blowing in a circular shape when the rotor 130 rotates. If the inlet 111 of the housing 110 is formed in a rectangular shape, wind generated when the rotor 130 rotates collides against square edges of the housing, thereby causing flow hindrance, such as a vortex flow, which hinders movement of contaminated gas by the rotor 130.
[0023] Accordingly, by forming the housing 110 in a cone shape with a narrower top and a wider bottom, the flow of the contaminated gas by the rotor 130 may be readily moved, such that exhaust efficiency may be improved.
[0025] As illustrated in FIG. 2, the exhaust fan 120 may be a sirocco fan. The sirocco fan is a centrifugal fan that allows air to circulate by rotation of multiple forward blades, and may be used in wide applications from the home to industrial environments for purposes of air purification or ventilation, as it causes little noise.
[0026] FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a rotor extracted from FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of FIG. 3.
[0027] As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the rotor 130 includes an axial core portion 131, a first blade 132, a body portion 133, a second blade 134, and holes 135.
[0028] The axial core portion 131 is a portion that is extended from the rotational drive device 121, and is connected to the exhaust fan 130 by the same axis.
[0029] The first blade 132 is connected to the axial core portion 131 to suction contaminated gas generated by the pollution generating device 10. For example, once the first blade 132 rotates to push contaminated gas toward the exhaust fan 120, contaminated gas at the bottom is introduced to an empty space, such that the contaminated gas generated by the pollution generating device 10 is suctioned into the inlet 111 of the housing 110.
[0030] The first blade 132 may be of any form, as long as the first blade 132 may function to force contaminated gas at the bottom to the top. The first blade 132 may be a twisted right triangle in a truncated cone shape connected to the axial core portion 131, or may be of a propeller shape attached to a support that connects the axial core portion 131 and the body portion 133. Further, the first blade 132 may be of a blade shape attached to an inner side of the body portion 133. That is, the shape of the first blade 132 may vary depending on structures and purposes of usage of the hood system 100 with a built-in rotor.
[0031] The body portion 133 may be connected to an upper and lower support of the axial core portion 131, and is formed to surround the first blade 132.
[0032] The second blade 134 may be attached to an outer surface of the body portion 133. Accordingly, as the body portion 133 rotates, contaminated gas discharged toward an upper portion of the exhaust fan 120 is prevented from diffusing to the outside by centrifugal force.
[0033] The body portion 133 may be of a cylindrical shape with an upper portion and a lower portion opened. Through the opened upper portion and lower portion, contaminated gas flows in, and a collecting range of contaminated gas may be narrowed or widened by changing the size of the opening.
[0034] The second blade 134 is formed on an outer surface of the body portion 133, and generates wind at the bottom by rotation. The generated wind collides with an inclined surface in the housing 110 to be collected in an inner side, thereby forming a flow fence to generate vortex and produce a curtain effect.
[0035] In a conventional hood system, only the exhaust fan 120 is installed in the housing 110 to simply suction air, thereby preventing contaminated gas generated by the pollution generating device 10 from being spread to the outside. Such vortex and curtain effects keep contaminated gas inside a flow fence, preventing contaminated gas from being spread to the outside.
[0036] The second blade 134 may be a right-angled triangle in a cone shape, but depending on structures or purposes of usage of the hood system 100 with a built-in rotor, the second blade 134 may be a shape with angles, or may be a rectangle, a circular arc, or the like, as illustrated in FIGS 5 to 7.
[0037] A plurality of holes 135, which are spaced apart, may be formed in the body portion 133 of the rotor 130. As the holes 135 are formed in the body portion 133 of the rotor 130, contaminated gas flowing into the rotor 130 may be forcibly discharged to the outside, thereby enabling a more efficient curtain effect produced by rotation of the second blade 134.
[0038] FIG. 8 is a view illustrating pressure distribution in FIG. 1 in a case where there is no rotor. FIG. 9 is a view illustrating pressure distribution in FIG. 1 that is changed by rotation of a rotor. FIG. 10 is a view illustrating an exhaust velocity of contaminated gas discharged by a hood system in FIG. 8 in a space between an exhaust fan and a pollution generating device. FIG. 11 is a view illustrating an exhaust velocity of contaminated gas discharged by a hood system in FIG. 9 in a space between an exhaust fan and a pollution generating device. Exhaust efficiency in a case where there is a rotor and in a case where there is no rotation boy will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 11.
[0039] First, as illustrated in FIG. 8, in a hood system with no rotor, low pressure is formed at the bottom of the exhaust fan 120 by rotation of the exhaust fan 120, and high pressure is formed in the discharge portion 140, such that contaminated gas generated by the pollution generating device 10 may be discharged. However, if the hood system is installed far from the pollution generating device 10, or if there is a large amount of contaminated gas, a weak suction force makes contaminated gas difficult to be discharged.
[0040] In order to solve the problem, by mounting the rotor 130 in the hood system as illustrated in FIG. 9, low pressure is formed at the bottom of the body portion 133 by rotation of the first blade 132 of the rotor 130, and a little high pressure is formed at the inlet 111, thereby facilitating exhaust action. Accordingly, rotation of the first blade 132 widens a suction range in a downward direction, forcing contaminated gas to the exhaust fan 120, thereby producing an effect that contaminated gas may be collected before being spread to the inside the home.
[0041] Further, a flow generated by rotation of the second blade 134 attached to an outer surface of the body portion 133 forms a curtain flow that collides with the housing 110 and goes downward. The curtain flow helps pollutants at the bottom to go up to the inlet 111, thereby enabling most contaminants to be discharged through the discharge portion 140.
[0042] By forming a lower support in a propeller shape that supports the body portion 133, contaminated gas at the bottom may be more readily lead to the discharge portion 140.
[0043] FIG. 10 is a view illustrating an exhaust velocity of contaminated gas discharged by a hood system in FIG. 8 in a space between an exhaust fan and a pollution generating device. Upon comparison of FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, if the exhaust fan 120 is operated in a hood system with no rotor 130, almost no exhaust velocity for contaminated gas in a lower region is seen. That is, contaminated gas in a lower region may not be collected by only the movement of the exhaust fan 120. Further, an exhaust velocity in a middle region is also weak, and an exhaust velocity only in an upper region may be measured as a value.
[0044] As illustrated in FIG. 11, however, in a hood system with the rotor 130, vortex, a curtain flow, and a suction flow generated by movement of the rotor 130 maintain an exhaust velocity of contaminated gas at more than a certain level, and an exhaust velocity in a middle region may be twice or more an exhaust velocity of a hood system with no rotor 130, with an excellent exhaust velocity in an upper region.
[0046] As illustrated in FIG. 12, the holes 235 may be formed in a quadrangle shape, and may be positioned at a lower end of the body portion 133. The holes 235 are not limited to the illustrated example, and its shapes and positions may vary depending on structures and usage purposes of the hood system 100 with a built-in rotor.
[0048] As illustrated in FIG. 13, the first and second blades 232 and 234 of the rotor 130 may be formed in a trapezoidal cone shape. Further, the first blades 232 may be formed inside the body portion 133 to be space apart from each other. The first blades 232 and the second blades 234 are positioned not to face each other, such that contaminated gas may be suctioned more efficiently.
[0049] A number of examples have been described above. Nevertheless, it should be understood that various modifications may be made. For example, suitable results may be achieved if the described techniques are performed in a different order and/or if components in a described system, architecture, device, or circuit are combined in a different manner and/or replaced or supplemented by other components or their equivalents. Accordingly, other implementations are within the scope of the following claims. Further, the above-described examples are for illustrative explanation of the present invention, and thus, the present invention is not limited thereto.
1. A hood system with a built-in rotor, the system comprising:
a housing that is disposed at an upper end of a pollution generating device, and that includes an inlet at a lower side through which contaminated gas is drawn in;
an exhaust fan that is installed inside the housing, and rotates by a rotational drive device to forcibly discharge contaminated gas;
a rotor that rotates with the exhaust fan to prevent the contaminated gas from being spread; and
a discharge portion that is installed on an upper surface of the housing, and that discharges the contaminated gas suctioned by the exhaust fan.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the rotor comprises:
an axial core portion that is connected to the exhaust fan by an identical axis;
a first blade that is connected to the axial core portion, and that suctions the contaminated gas generated by the pollution generating device;
a body portion that is connected to the axial core portion to surround the first blade, and that is formed in a cylindrical shape with an upper portion and a lower portion opened;
a second blade that is formed on an outer surface of the body portion, and that generates vortex and a curtain flow by blowing wind at a lower end.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the body portion of the rotor has a plurality of holes
that are spaced apart.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the housing is formed in a cone shape with a narrower
top and a wider bottom.