Independent popcorn machine
阅读说明:本技术 独立式爆米花机 (Independent popcorn machine ) 是由 T·A·拉霍姆 于 2020-03-27 设计创作,主要内容包括:本发明提供了一种爆米花机,该爆米花机具有:包括爆米花室的机柜;位于爆米花室内的锅;设置在爆米花室的顶壁中的至少一个入口,所述至少一个入口构造成在爆裂爆米花时接收来自锅的流出物;与所述至少一个入口流体连通的再循环通道,所述再循环通道构造成接收来自所述至少一个入口的流出物。过滤器位于再循环通道中,并且鼓风机包括与再循环通道流体连通的壳体,所述鼓风机设有壳体出口,所述壳体出口构造成将过滤后的流出物通过顶壁并且向下大致平行于侧壁之一引导到爆米花室中。还提供了一种操作爆米花机的方法。(The present invention provides a popcorn malcer, having: a cabinet comprising a popcorn chamber; a pot located within the popcorn chamber; at least one inlet disposed in a top wall of the popcorn chamber, the at least one inlet configured to receive effluent from the pot upon popping the popcorn; a recirculation passage in fluid communication with the at least one inlet, the recirculation passage configured to receive effluent from the at least one inlet. A filter is located in the recirculation passage, and a blower includes a housing in fluid communication with the recirculation passage, the blower provided with a housing outlet configured to direct filtered effluent through the top wall and down into the popcorn chamber generally parallel to one of the side walls. A method of operating a popcorn maker is also provided.)
1. A popcorn malcer, comprising:
a cabinet comprising a popcorn chamber defined at least in part by a pair of side walls, a top wall, and a back wall extending between the pair of side walls;
a pot located within the popcorn chamber;
at least one inlet disposed in the top wall and configured to receive effluent from the pot upon popping the popcorn;
a recirculation channel in fluid communication with the at least one inlet and downstream from the at least one inlet such that the recirculation channel is configured to receive effluent from the at least one inlet;
a filter located in the recirculation passage and configured to remove particulates from effluent received from the at least one inlet through the recirculation passage;
a blower including a housing in fluid communication with the recirculation passage, the housing having an inlet and an outlet, the inlet being located downstream of the filter such that the inlet is configured to receive filtered effluent from the filter, and the outlet being configured to direct the filtered effluent into the popcorn chamber through the top wall and down generally parallel to one of the side walls.
2. The popcorn malcer according to claim 1, further comprising:
a diffuser comprising at least one vent downstream of an outlet of a housing of a blower, such that the outlet is configured to direct filtered effluent into the popcorn chamber via the at least one vent.
3. The popcorn malcer according to claim 2, wherein said outlet has a first area and said at least one vent has a second area greater than or equal to said first area.
4. The popcorn malcer according to claim 3, wherein said at least one vent comprises a plurality of vents, and wherein said second area is equal to a cumulative sum of areas of said plurality of vents.
5. The popcorn malcer according to claim 1, wherein said at least one inlet is located above said pan.
6. The popcorn malcer according to claim 1, wherein said outlet is configured to direct filtered effluent through said top wall into said popcorn chamber in a vertically downward direction.
7. The popcorn malcer according to claim 1, wherein said cabinet comprises a lower enclosure and an upper enclosure, said popcorn chamber being disposed in said lower enclosure and said recirculation channel being disposed in said upper enclosure.
8. The popcorn malcer according to claim 1, wherein the blower has a capacity of about 500 CFM.
9. A method of operating a popcorn maker, the method comprising:
popping popcorn in a pot located within a popcorn chamber, the popcorn chamber defined at least in part by a pair of side walls, a top wall, and a back wall extending between the pair of side walls;
producing an effluent resulting from popping the popcorn in the pot;
directing the effluent through a filter;
discharging the filtered effluent through the top wall and down generally parallel to one of the side walls; and
continuously recycling the filtered effluent into the popcorn chamber.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein recycling the filtered effluent into the popcorn chamber comprises: directing the filtered effluent vertically downward into the popcorn chamber.
Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to controlling particulate emissions from food preparation processes, and more particularly to an apparatus, system, and method for controlling particulate emissions from popcorn popping operations.
Background
Currently, popcorn makers, such as those disclosed in U.S. patent No.7,874,244 and owned by a common assignee, use a blower and filter combination to capture oil, steam, smoke, and particulates from the effluent discharged from the pot of the popcorn maker during popping from within the cabinet of the popcorn maker. Within the cabinet, a stand-alone system filters particulates and effluent discharged from the pot and then discharges the filtered effluent into an area outside the cabinet of the popcorn maker.
The amount of particulates that are not filtered out of the effluent but are allowed by current standards or regulations to be discharged into the ambient environment outside the popcorn maker is typically limited to 5 milligrams per cubic meter of exhaust gas released from the filter system. Again, according to relevant emission test standards for popcorn makers, no visible particles should be allowed to escape from the cabinet.
Particulate emissions from the popcorn popping process are undesirably released into the ambient environment in which the popcorn maker operates via filtered or unfiltered air, and can result in a number of ultimately significant disadvantages. For example, many movie theaters have adopted or are moving toward digital projection systems. Released particles and exudates from popcorn poppers in theaters may deposit or collect on lens assemblies of the equipment (whether digital or conventional), which may affect or damage the equipment or degrade the projection quality. Some particles can be cumbersome due to their small size. Particle deposits of this nature are difficult to clean.
In the popcorn maker described in U.S. patent No.7,874,244, the stand-alone popcorn maker substantially eliminates the disadvantages of particle release by generating a defined airflow within the cabinet of the popcorn maker and filtering the particles from the effluent before releasing the filtered airflow into the environment surrounding the popcorn maker.
Such released particulate components are reduced to the point where a large capacity popcorn maker with open-sided cabinets can be used to pop the popcorn and maintain the popcorn at a warm temperature, without the need to connect the popcorn maker to an existing exhaust pipe system at all, or to retrofit a building or theater by adding necessary but expensive exhaust ducts. U.S. patent No.7,874,244 is expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
While the stand-alone popcorn maker described in U.S. patent No.7,874,244 provides significant advances, other popcorn maker techniques and designs for reducing and eliminating particulate emissions are desired.
In the applicant's prior U.S. patent application No.14/504,854, a free standing popcorn maker is described that is designed to substantially eliminate the emission of effluent from an open popcorn maker, thereby substantially reducing any particles from the popcorn maker to an unmeasurable level or a substantially low level, even where the cabinet housing the saucepan and the popcorn warming zone has one or more fully open sides. The popcorn maker described in U.S. patent application No.14/504,854 utilizes one or more air curtains disposed at one or more open sides to contain the effluent within the cabinet. U.S. application No.14/504,854 is also expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Manufacturers and operators of popcorn makers are continually striving to further reduce or eliminate particle release and to do so efficiently. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide improved devices, systems, and methods for reducing particulate emissions from popcorn poppers.
Disclosure of Invention
The present invention overcomes the foregoing and other drawbacks and deficiencies of heretofore known stand-alone popcorn poppers. While the invention will be described in conjunction with certain embodiments, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to these embodiments. On the contrary, the invention includes all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention.
According to one exemplary embodiment, a popcorn malcer is provided, including a cabinet having a popcorn chamber defined at least in part by a pair of side walls, a top wall, and a back wall extending between the pair of side walls, wherein a pot is located within the popcorn chamber.
The popcorn maker further includes at least one inlet disposed in the top wall, the at least one inlet configured to receive effluent from the pot when popping the popcorn.
A recirculation passage is in fluid communication with and downstream from the at least one inlet such that the recirculation passage is configured to receive effluent from the at least one inlet. A filter is located in the recirculation passage and is configured to remove particulates from the effluent received from the at least one inlet through the recirculation passage.
The popcorn maker also includes a blower including a housing in fluid communication with the recirculation passage. The housing has an inlet and an outlet, the inlet being located downstream of the filter such that the inlet is configured to receive filtered effluent from the filter. The outlet of the housing is configured to direct filtered effluent through the top wall and down into the popcorn chamber generally parallel to one of the side walls.
In one embodiment, a diffuser is provided that includes at least one exhaust vent downstream of an outlet of a blower housing. The outlet is configured to direct the filtered effluent into the popcorn chamber via the at least one vent hole. The outlet may have a first area and the at least one exhaust aperture may have a second area greater than or equal to the first area.
In one embodiment, the at least one vent comprises a plurality of vents, wherein the second area is equal to the cumulative area sum of the plurality of vents.
According to various embodiments, the at least one inlet may be located above the pan. The outlet of the blower housing may be configured to direct filtered effluent through the top wall in a vertically downward direction into the popcorn chamber.
In one embodiment, the cabinet of the popcorn maker comprises a lower enclosure and an upper enclosure, wherein the popcorn chamber is disposed in the lower enclosure and the recirculation channel is disposed in the upper enclosure.
The blower of the popcorn maker according to one embodiment can have a capacity of about 500 Cfm.
According to another aspect, a method of operating a popcorn maker is provided. In one embodiment, the method comprises the steps of: popping popcorn in a pot position within a popcorn chamber defined at least in part by a pair of side walls, a top wall, and a back wall extending between the pair of side walls.
The method according to an embodiment further comprises the steps of: an effluent is produced from popping the popcorn in the pot, and the effluent is directed through a filter. The filtered effluent is discharged through the top wall and down generally parallel to one of the side walls.
According to one embodiment, the method further comprises the steps of: the filtered effluent is continuously recycled to the popcorn chamber. The step of recycling the filtered effluent to the popcorn chamber may include: the filtered effluent is directed vertically downward into the popcorn chamber.
Various additional features and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the following detailed description of the illustrative embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Drawings
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with a general description of the invention given above, and the detailed description given below, serve to explain the invention.
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary popcorn malcer according to one embodiment of the invention.
Fig. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the popcorn malcer of fig. 1, showing a flow path for effluent to drain from the pot of the popcorn maker in the popcorn chamber, be directed through a filter, and return to the popcorn chamber via a blower, with the pot and associated components shown in phantom.
Fig. 3 is a partial bottom plan view of the blower shown in fig. 2.
Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the diffuser shown in fig. 2.
Detailed Description
Referring to fig. 1 and 2, an exemplary popcorn malcer 10 is shown according to one embodiment of the invention. The popcorn maker 10 includes a
As shown, the secondary upper enclosure 16 includes a front panel 40, a
To this end, at least one air inlet or
As shown, the
At least one vertically oriented
As schematically shown in fig. 2, the illustrated popcorn malcer 10 includes a
Thus, the popcorn maker 10 can provide a high percentage of particle capture and can maintain the effluent stream within the
In the illustrated embodiment, a
Referring now to fig. 3, an exemplary outlet 78 of the
Referring now to FIG. 4, the
In one embodiment, the cumulative total area of the vent holes 92 is greater than or equal to the total area of the outlet 78 of the
Referring again primarily to fig. 2, operating the popcorn maker 10 can include popping popcorn in a
Thus, the metered particle-laden effluent from the
As used herein, the term "pot" includes a heatable popcorn pot as described in U.S. patent N0.7,874,244, or any device for popping popcorn, but which is configured to apply heat (including by convection, conduction, or other means) to unpopped popcorn. The volume of the
As used herein, the term "effluent" includes steam, vapors, oil vapors and particulates emitted from popcorn popping operations and includes air. As described herein, particles in the effluent from the popcorn popping operation are continuously filtered from the effluent and any air components thereof as the effluent flows through the
It should be appreciated that upon power-up of the popcorn maker 10, operation of the popcorn maker 10 results in recirculation air from the
It should also be appreciated that any air or mixed effluent that may be incidentally discharged or separated from the
While various aspects in accordance with the principles of the invention have been illustrated by a description of various embodiments and while the embodiments have been described in considerable detail, they are not intended to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the invention to such detail. The various features shown and described herein can be used alone or in any combination. Other advantages and modifications will be apparent to persons skilled in the art. The invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus and method, and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the scope of the general inventive concept.
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