Range hood air cleaning device

Claim 1

Range ventilating apparatus for removing grease vapors, odors, smoke and the like including a hood structure overhanging and spaced above a range cooking surface, said hood structure having a vertically extending box-like configuration with a forwardly extending upper portion, an elongated horizontal slot formed in the front face of said box-like hood structure below said extending upper portion, said slot being defined by a unitary tubular structure removably inserted into said box-like hood, one wall of said tubular structure being formed to provide an upper lip portion at the upper edge of said slot turned inwardly and downwardly within said hood and terminating above the base of said hood, the other wall of said tubular structure being formed to provide a lower lip portion at the lower edge of said slot, and outwardly directed horizontally extending flange provided along the lowermost margin of said upper lip portion and an inwardly directed horizontally extending flange provided along the uppermost margin of said lower lip portion, said horizontal flanges providing a passage of reduced area therebetween for air and fumes within the hood structure, a series of spray nozzles supplied with cooling water arranged along the rear surface of said upper lip portion and within the hood structure for directing a continuous water spray downwardly within said hood structure to impinge on the rear surface of said upper lip portion, whereby when the pressure within said hood structure is below atmospheric, air and fumes from the range surface are drawn through said slot and provided increased downwardly directed velocity by the proximity to each other of said horizontal flanges and are then reversed to flow upwardly through said hood structure, the water spray cooling said upper lip portion to prevent grease particles impinging thereon from being baked on the lip surface, and thE removability of said unitary tubular structure permitting maintenance access to said spray nozzles and the interior of said hood structure.