WO2025201662A1

WO2025201662A1 - Energy efficient multi-hood automated kitchen ventilation system

Info

Publication number: WO2025201662A1
Application number: PCT/EP2024/058790
Authority: WO
Inventors: Benjamin Vandorpe; Tharun KARANAM; Aaron SNAUWAERT
Original assignee: Lava Group BV
Current assignee: Lava Group BV
Priority date: 2024-03-29
Filing date: 2024-03-29
Publication date: 2025-10-02
Anticipated expiration: 2026-09-29

Abstract

The present invention discloses an automated residential, commercial, or professional multi-hood (multiple hoods within a single kitchen layout or a single building) kitchen ventilation system. This system is designed to enhance energy efficiency by integrating one or more thermal cameras in combination with variable airflow valves to regulate extraction and pulsion motor speeds. In kitchens where a single motor serves multiple hoods, the system employs thermal cameras to detect hotspots, considering factors such as size, temperature, location and thermal patterns, including changes in temperature, size, or location of hotspots over a period of time. The thermal data is being processed by a hood controller to calculate the demand of the hood. These individual demands are being recalculated by a central controller to an overall motor speed and airflow valve positions for each individual hood to dynamically optimize ventilation output based on real-time cooking conditions. By precisely modulating airflow in response to detected hotspots, the system minimizes noise and energy consumption while ensuring effective ventilation throughout the kitchen space. The innovative combination of thermal imaging technology and Variable airflow valves offers significant improvements in energy efficiency, operational performance for residential, commercial or professional kitchen environments and wellbeing of kitchen personnel.

Description

Energy efficient multi-hood automated kitchen ventilation system

Background Description:

Traditional residential, commercial and professional kitchen ventilation systems often rely on centralized extraction and pulsion units to provide airflow regulation across multiple cooking stations. However, this conventional approach may result in inefficiencies as it does not adapt ventilation output to the specific heat and pollutant emission levels generated at each individual cooking area.

Efforts to optimize energy consumption in residential, commercial and professional kitchen environments have been limited by the lack of monitoring capabilities and adaptive control mechanisms. Existing systems typically rely on fixed speeds or manual adjustments, which do not account for variations in cooking activities or evolving kitchen layouts.

Recent advancements in thermal imaging technology have substantially improved temperature monitoring capabilities. These advancements, combined with the processing capabilities of microcontrollers, enable precise real-time monitoring of temperature distributions. The output from the thermal cameras not only facilitates the detection and quantification of hotspots but also allows for the measurement of their size, temperature, location and thermal pattern/movement.

In parallel, variable airflow valves add another level of control over airflow rates, allowing for dynamic modulation of ventilation intensity based on real-time cooking conditions. By adjusting the airflow volume delivered to each hood, variable airflow valves offer the potential to optimize energy consumption while maintaining optimal ventilation performance.

The proposed automated multi-hood kitchen ventilation system builds upon these technological advancements by combining thermal imaging with variable airflow valves to create a more energy-efficient and responsive ventilation solution. By utilizing thermal data from the cameras to identify hotspots and assess their characteristics, the system can dynamically adjust the speed of the motor and variable airflow valves to match ventilation output with actual demand.

This innovative approach not only enhances energy efficiency by minimizing unnecessary ventilation but also improves indoor air quality and comfort levels within the kitchen environment. By precisely regulating extraction (extracting the polluted air) and/or pulsion (compensating the extracted air) operations based on real-time thermal data, the system offers significant benefits in terms of operational cost savings, environmental sustainability, and overall kitchen performance.

Summary:

The present invention discloses an energy-efficient automated kitchen ventilation system designed for multi-hood kitchen layouts in residential, commercial or professional environments. Conventional ventilation systems suffer from inefficiencies stemming from fixed- speed operation or manual control. This innovation leverages real-time thermal data monitoring by thermal cameras to optimize ventilation, thereby reducing noise and energy consumption while maintaining air quality.

Key Features:

1 . Real-time Thermal Monitoring: The system utilizes thermal imaging technology to detect and analyze hotspots in terms of their size, quantity, location, and temperature. Furthermore, it discerns patterns within and/or movement of these hotspots to distinguish cooking spots from those generated by retained heat.

2. Dynamic Control Mechanism: A centralized controller processes demands calculated by individual hood controllers based on the data provided by the thermal cameras and dynamically adjusts air valves, extraction and/or pulsion motor(s) to match ventilation requirements based on cooking activities and environmental conditions.

3. Seamless Integration: Engineered for seamless integration with new and existing kitchen ventilation setups, the system accommodates various layouts and cooking activities by utilizing one or more thermal cameras.

4. Retrofittability: Integration of the system into pre-existing kitchen ventilation configurations is seamless, provided that the motor drivers are equipped with an input for motor speed regulation.

5. Scalability: This system offers high scalability, capable of adapting to evolving kitchen layouts by detecting the entire surface beneath the hood. Additional thermal cameras can be added later to expand the monitored area even further.

6. Noise Reduction: Adjusting hood speed to match cooking demands minimizes noise disturbance for people inside the kitchen and nearby areas adjacent to the motor sites.

7. Energy Efficiency: By controlling ventilation components in response to detected thermal conditions, the system minimizes unnecessary energy consumption while ensuring effective ventilation, leading to significant energy savings.

8. Supporting multiple hoods: The multi-hood system is engineered to regulate airflow in a kitchen ventilation system with multiple hoods driven by one extraction motor and one or more pulsion motors by adjusting motor speeds and valve positions based on the demand of each individual hood.

Brief description of the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a kitchen setup equipped with the disclosed automated kitchen ventilation system. The arrows point in the direction data/signals will flow.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of how the individual hood systems will operate from reading the thermal camera to outputting the demand.

FIG. 3 depicts the thermal camera's output, reconstructed from the temperature array captured by the camera to illustrate the captured data.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of how the multi-hood systems will operate from reading the demands of different hoods to changing the motor speeds and valve positions.

Detailed description:

The ensuing segment will provide a detailed explanation of the system, based upon the previously presented drawings and pictures. Throughout this explanation, references to these drawings and images will be made using their respective numbers.

Commencing with FIG. 1.

The disclosed automated kitchen ventilation system comprises multiple hoods driven by one extraction (2) motor and one or more pulsion (3) motors, equipped with one or more thermal cameras strategically positioned along the length of the cooking surfaces (6), depending on the hood's dimensions. Cameras with different fields of view (FOV) can be used to make everything underneath the hood's surface detectable. It is crucial to emphasize that the entire surface (6) beneath the hood (1) is being monitored continuously, including areas where no fixed heat sources are present. This characteristic enhances the system's flexibility to accommodate changes in the kitchen layout. For instance, this flexibility encompasses the addition of a new stove top, the repositioning of existing stove tops, or the introduction of mobile frying pans, among other possibilities, without the need for recalibrating the system.

The thermal cameras of each specific hood (1) transfer the captured thermal data (10) to the hood controller (4) placed on the hood, which processes this data and calculates the demand of that specific hood. All individual hood controllers (4) then transmit the demand of the hood (1) they monitor to the multi-hood controller (7). This multi-hood controller (7) collects all the demands, calculates the best motor speed to accommodate all these demands, and then regulates the air valves (8) of each hood (1) to achieve the demanded extraction (2) and/or pulsion at that specific hood.

The hoods are equipped with a shared extraction motor responsible for expelling steam, smoke, fat, and other cooking impurities through extraction ducts, while one or more pulsion (3) motor(s) supply outside air into the kitchen through pulsion (3) air ducts to compensate for the negative kitchen pressure created by the extraction airflow. Continuing with FIG. 2 and 3.

First of all, the thermal cameras transmit their captured thermal data (10) of the current situation underneath the hood (1) to their hood controller (4). The controller (4) then analyzes the received data (FIG. 4) as a comprehensive view of the whole cooking surface (6) underneath that hood (1) to detect hotspots. Upon identifying hotspots, their size, temperature, and location are recorded. The recorded data is cross-referenced with previous records to identify thermal patterns, including movement, changes in size, or temperature over a specific period. This helps distinguish whether hotspots (9) stem from residual heat or ongoing cooking activity. If a hotspot (9) has moved and its former location is experiencing a decrease in temperature, it indicates that the previous location is not a genuine hotspot (9) but rather a result of retained heat. Such a hotspot (9) exerts less influence on the calculation of the motor speed. If the temperature falls below a certain threshold, it can even be ignored completely.

When the number of actual cooking hotspots (9) is determined along with their temperatures, the controller (4) calculates the demand of the hood. Subsequently, the controller (4) checks whetherthis demand has changed. If the demand remains unchanged, the controller (4) maintains the existing signal to the motor driver. However, if the demand has been in the Idle state, indicating a preparation for cooking activity or the extraction (2) of retained heat after cooking, for a predetermined period, the hood (1) will be shut off. In the event that the demand has changed, the controller (4) transmits a new signal corresponding to the new level of demand to the multi-hood controller (7). Once this process is completed, the loop restarts.

To illustrate, consider Example 1 : If the thermal cameras detect two hotspots (9) with temperatures of 60°C and 80°C (illustrated example), with a size of 15 and 20 pixels (illustrated example) respectively, the controller (4) calculates the demand of the hood. In this scenario, the controller (4) determines that a demand of 30% (illustrated example) is sufficient to effectively remove the detected impurities and maintain desired air quality levels.

Similarly, in Example 2, if one of the hotspots (9) decreases in temperature and size, the controller (4) dynamically adjusts the ventilation settings accordingly. In this case, the controller (4) prioritizes the remaining hotspot (9) with higher temperature and larger size, reducing the demand to 10% (illustrated example).

Finishing with FIG. 4.

The central controller, referred to as the "multi-hood controller (7)," gathers the demands of the different monitored hoods and non-monitored hoods (activated by a manual button or touch interface), calculates the optimal motor speed to meet these demands, and sends a signal to the motor drivers. Additionally, the multi-hood controller (7) adjusts the air valves (8) to ensure that the extraction (2) volume generated by the motors is distributed appropriately across the various hoods. Control of the air valves (8) is achieved using signals sent by the controller (7).

All of these steps occur within a loop of under 3 seconds. This means that the system is capable of responding to changes in cooking activity beneath the hood (1) within 3 seconds. However, it is important to note that the motor speed or air valve (8) positions may not reach its desired level within this timeframe, as it depends on the specific motor ramp-up time and response time of the actuators. By continuously analyzing thermal data (10) and adjusting ventilation operations accordingly, the disclosed system optimizes noise and energy consumption while ensuring efficient removal of cooking impurities and maintenance of indoor air quality. The integration of thermal imaging technology and intelligent control mechanisms enhances the effectiveness and adaptability of kitchen ventilation systems, resulting in improved operational performance and environmental sustainability.

Claims

Claims:

1 . A kitchen ventilation system comprising: a. A controller using the outputs from individual automated hood controllers, which uses the outputs from thermal cameras to measure the temperature of hotspots within the kitchen environment. b. A controller regulating the airflow valve of multiple hoods and/or speed of an extraction motor and/or speed of the pulsion motor(s) based on the demand calculated by hood controllers based on the hotspot temperature measurements captured by thermal cameras.

2. A kitchen ventilation system comprising: a. A controller using the outputs from individual automated hood controllers, which uses the outputs from thermal cameras to measure the size of hotspots within the kitchen environment. b. A controller regulating the airflow valve of multiple hoods and/or speed of an extraction motor and/or speed of the pulsion motor(s) based on the demand calculated by hood controllers based on the hotspot size measurements captured by thermal cameras.

3. A kitchen ventilation system comprising: a. A controller using the outputs from individual automated hood controllers, which uses the outputs from thermal cameras to identify the location of hotspots within the kitchen environment. b. A controller regulating the airflow valve of multiple hoods and/or speed of an extraction motor and/or speed of the pulsion motor(s) based on the demand calculated by hood controllers based on the hotspot location measurements captured by thermal cameras.

4. A kitchen ventilation system comprising: a. A controller using the outputs from individual automated hood controllers, which uses historic data from thermal cameras to monitor thermal patterns, including changes in temperature, size, or location of hotspots within the kitchen environment. b. A controller regulating the airflow valve of multiple hoods and/or speed of an extraction motor and/or speed of the pulsion motor based on the monitored thermal patterns within the kitchen environment such as changes in temperature, size, or location of hotspots within the kitchen environment.

5. A kitchen ventilation system as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the installed controller regulates the airflow valve of multiple hoods, as well as the speed of the extraction and pulsion motor(s) based on the temperature, size, or location and thermal patterns of hotspots detected by thermal cameras individually or in combination. retrofittable system for new and existing manually operated hood/kitchen ventilation system(s), comprising: a. An installed controller using the outputs from individual automated hood controllers, which uses the outputs from thermal cameras to measure temperature, size, location and thermal patterns of hotspots within the kitchen environment. b. Integration of an installed controller to regulate the airflow valve of multiple hoods, as well as the speed of an extraction motor and a pulsion motor(s) based on measurements from the thermal cameras. c. Adaptation of existingventilation components to accommodate the automated control system described in claims 1 to 5.