Apparatus for disposing of airborne particulate matter and cooking means

Claim 1

The combination of cooking means disposed in a food preparation area within a building for the preparation of food and from which particles of grease and the like become airborne liquid particulate matter, air flow guide means for directing air flow and including a hood positioned above said area and said cooking means and duct means extending from said hood, means for inducing air to flow from said area within the building into and through said hood and said duct means at such velocities as to entrain with the flowing air at least the major portion of airborne particulate matter originating in said area and for conveying the particulate matter in an unrestricted manner from said area, an elongate container having a generally right circular cylindrical inner wall surface and interposed between said duct means and said air flow inducing means in series flow relation with said air flow induCing means for receiving the flowing air and conveyed particulate matter, directing means operatively associated with said elongate container for directing flowing air and conveyed particulate matter entering said container generally at a right angle to the longitudinal axis of said container and tangentially to said inner wall surface and for directing flowing air and particulate matter longitudinally and circularly within said container and in a first direction generally along said longitudinal axis for accelerating and sharply turning flowing air to leave the container generally along the longitudinal axis in a direction opposite the first direction therealong for separating most of the conveyed particulate matter from the flowing air and for retaining the separated particulate matter while passing the flowing air and the remainder of the conveyed particulate matter onward toward said air flow inducing means, and combustion means for burning the remainder of the conveyed particulate matter and located outside the building in series flow relation with said flow inducing means and said elongate container, said combustion means receiving flowing air and the remainder of the conveyed particulate matter and having a plurality of flame holder members arranged to define a plane perpendicular to the flow direction of the flowing air and at which combustion of the remainder of the conveyed particulate matter occurs while the flowing air passes to the ambient atmosphere.