US4250609A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Flue stack maintenance system utilizing replaceable liners
Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1979-07-31
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Granted: 1981-02-17
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Expires: 1999-07-31
Abstract
Abstract A flue stack maintenance system particularly for those flues through which grease laden air passes such as for example exist in commercial restaurant kitchens and the like (FIG. 1), which utilizes an expandible, elongated metal foil liner bag which forms a closed interior system except for an air inlet conduit provided for the application into the interior of the bag an air pressure greater than the ambient to balloon out the bag into facing engagement with the interior of the flue stack (FIG. 3B). After the bag is ballooned out, the upper and lower ends are opened and folded over and around the ends of the flue for attaching the foil liner to the flue (FIG. 3C). After the liner becomes laden with deposits of grease and the like, it is removed by sealing off the distal end and closing off the proximate end around a vacuum hose which applies to the interior of the liner a negative or vacuuming pressure below the ambient, which causes the liner to collapse inwardly for its easy removal from the flue stack (FIGS. 4A and 4B) to be replaced with a new liner bag. The liner bag is made from for example an aluminum foil sheet folded over in half unto itself and sealed along its mating edges with the air inlet conduit extending through one edge (FIGS. 2A and 2B). Longitudinal and lateral expansion folds can be included in the bag structure, exemplary folds being accordian type (FIGS. 6 and 7) and Z-Type folds (FIGS. 5 and 8). A liner bag having two separable liner walls allowing for separate removing of the inner liner leaving the outer liner with the flue is also disclosed (FIG. 9).
Inventors
- 👤 Jimmy A. Beaudoin
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-02 06:04
CPC Classifications
F; F23; F23J; F23J13/00; F23J13/02; F23J3/00; F23J3/02; F23J3/026; F24; F24C; F24C15/00; F24C15/20; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S138/00; Y10S138/10; Y10T; Y10T29/00; Y10T29/49; Y10T29/49718; Y10T29/49721; Y10T29/49732; Y10T29/49748; Y10T29/49805; Y10T29/49815; Y10T29/49822; Y10T29/49824; Y10T29/49826; Y10T29/49908; Y10T29/49909; Y10T29/49911
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 18
Claim 1
Independent Claim
214 words
A method of maintaining the interior wall surfaces of a flue through which for example grease-containing air passes, comprising the following steps: (a) providing at least one relatively compact, elongated, flexible, expandible liner bag having at least one closed end and having in its expanded disposition a horizontal cross-sectional dimension at least as great as that of the flue; (b) inserting the bag in its compact disposition into the flue so that its elongated dimension longitudinally extends along the length of the flue; (c) applying air pressure in excess of the ambient into the interior of the bag and thereby ballooning it out against the interior surfaces of the flue to form a lining of the bag material on said interior surfaces; (d) opening the closed end of the liner bag; (e) attaching at least the lower end of the expanded liner bag to keep the liner in position during use; and (f) in due course, when said liner becomes coated, damaged, etc., or when otherwise desired, removing the used liner and replacing it with another by repeating steps "a" through "e" supra with another liner bag; thereby maintaining the interior wall surfaces of the flue from becoming excessively grease coated without the necessity of manual or machine cleaning of said interior wall surfaces.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
214 words
A method of maintaining the interior wall surfaces of a flue through which for example grease-containing air passes, comprising the following steps: (a) providing at least one relatively compact, elongated, flexible, expandible liner bag having at least one closed end and having in its expanded disposition a horizontal cross-sectional dimension at least as great as that of the flue; (b) inserting the bag in its compact disposition into the flue so that its elongated dimension longitudinally extends along the length of the flue; (c) applying air pressure in excess of the ambient into the interior of the bag and thereby ballooning it out against the interior surfaces of the flue to form a lining of the bag material on said interior surfaces; (d) opening the closed end of the liner bag; (e) attaching at least the lower end of the expanded liner bag to keep the liner in position during use; and (f) in due course, when said liner becomes coated, damaged, etc., or when otherwise desired, removing the used liner and replacing it with another by repeating steps "a" through "e" supra with another liner bag; thereby maintaining the interior wall surfaces of the flue from becoming excessively grease coated without the necessity of manual or machine cleaning of said interior wall surfaces.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
59 words
The method of claim 1 wherein step "f" includes the following steps: (i) closing off at least one end of the ballooned liner; and (ii) applying a negative air pressure less than that of the ambient into the interior of the bag, sucking it in, and thereby causing it to collapse inwardly away from the said interior wall surfaces.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 1 wherein step "e" is performed by the step of folding the lower end of the expanded bag over and around the end of the flue.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 3 wherein said folding step is performed at both ends of the expanded bag.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
43 words
The method of claim 1 wherein step "a" includes the step of having a liner bag having two separable walls, and step "f" includes the step of removing only the innermost of the two separable walls, leaving the outermost wall on the flue.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
146 words
A liner for lining the interior surfaces of a flue or the like, comprising an elongated bag of flexible, expandible material closed at least one end and having a lateral, horizontal cross-sectional dimension at least as great as that of the flue, said bag in its initial, compact disposition being easily insertable longitudinally into the flue and having a length greater than the length of the flue and being baloonable out under the application of an interior air pressure greater than the ambient into face-to-face facing engagement with the interior surfaces of the flue along the full length of the flue, the longitudinal end portions of the bag after the closed ends have been opened being foldable up and around the ends of the flue to provide attachment means for attachment of the balooned bag to the flue to serve as a liner for the flue.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
146 words
A liner for lining the interior surfaces of a flue or the like, comprising an elongated bag of flexible, expandible material closed at least one end and having a lateral, horizontal cross-sectional dimension at least as great as that of the flue, said bag in its initial, compact disposition being easily insertable longitudinally into the flue and having a length greater than the length of the flue and being baloonable out under the application of an interior air pressure greater than the ambient into face-to-face facing engagement with the interior surfaces of the flue along the full length of the flue, the longitudinal end portions of the bag after the closed ends have been opened being foldable up and around the ends of the flue to provide attachment means for attachment of the balooned bag to the flue to serve as a liner for the flue.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
57 words
The liner of claim 6 wherein said bag is completely closed except for an air pressure inlet conduit extending from the interior of the bag to the exterior of the bag, said conduit serving as pressure applying means for applying an air pressure greater than the ambient to the interior of the bag to balloon it out.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
13 words
The liner of claim 6 wherein said bag is made of metal foil.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
29 words
The liner of claim 8 wherein the bag is formed of a sheet of metal foil folded over in half onto itself and sealed along its peripheral, contacting edges.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
50 words
The liner of claim 6 wherein said bag includes about its lateral periphery at least one laterally extending, expandible fold, said laterally expanding fold forming longitudinal expansion means for allowing said bag to be longitudinally extended at selected portions of said lateral periphery to match a bend in the flue.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
13 words
The liner of claim 10 wherein said fold is an accordian type fold.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
12 words
The liner of claim 10 wherein said fold is a Z-type fold.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
44 words
The liner of claim 1 wherein said bag includes a series of longitudinally extending, expandible folds about its periphery, said longitudinally extending folds forming lateral expansion means for allowing said bag to be laterally expanded out to contact the interior surfaces of the flue.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
12 words
The liner of claim 13 wherein said folds are accordion type folds.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
10 words
The liner of claim 13 wherein folds are Z-type folds.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
41 words
The liner of claim 6 wherein said bag includes at least two separable walls forming two separable inner and outer liners providing means for selectively separate removal of the inner liner from the flue, leaving said outer liner in the flue.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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Cited
US1860855A
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US2809664A
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US2970042A
Cited
US3247581A
Cited
US4043132A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1984-02-17 | 1984-08-18 | 1985-02-17 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1988-02-17 | 1988-08-18 | 1989-02-17 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1992-02-17 | 1992-08-18 | 1993-02-17 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |