Ductless or ducted fumehood with improved front sash closure

Abstract

A novel front sash closure for a fumehood of the sort comprising a workspace defined by a frame and accessed by a front opening, the front sash closure comprising: a transparent fixed pane and a transparent hinged pane; wherein the transparent fixed pane is securely mounted to the frame of the fumehood so as to partially cover the front opening of the fumehood, whereby to reduce the size of the front opening of the fumehood to a working opening; and wherein the transparent hinged pane is hingedly mounted to the frame of the fumehood intermediate the working opening so as to be able to selectively cover a portion of the working opening.

Claims

1. A front sash closure for a fumehood having a workspace defined by a frame and accessed by a front opening, wherein the frame comprises a back portion, a front portion, a top portion, a bottom portion and two side portions connecting the top portion to the bottom portion and the front portion to the back portion, said front sash closure comprising: a transparent fixed pane securely mounted to the front portion of the frame of the fumehood so as to partially cover the front opening of the fumehood, whereby to reduce the size of the front opening of the fumehood to a working opening, the working opening having a top half and a bottom half, wherein the front portion of the frame surrounding the working opening forms a slanted face, with the slanted face slanting toward the back portion of the frame as the slanted face progresses from the bottom portion of the frame toward the top portion of the frame; and a transparent hinged pane hingedly mounted to the frame of the fumehood, wherein the transparent hinged pane is hingedly mounted to the frame of the fumehood at the midpoint of said working opening so that the transparent hinged pane can be rotated between (i) an up position in which the top half of said working opening is covered by said transparent hinged pane and the bottom half of said working opening is open, and (ii) a down position in which the bottom half of said working opening is covered by said transparent hinged pane and the top half of the said working opening is open, wherein the transparent hinged pane remains in the up position and the down position by gravity.

2. The front sash closure according to claim 1 further comprising two hinges for hingedly mounting said transparent hinged pane to the frame of the fumehood.

3. The front sash closure according to claim 2 wherein said hinges are configured so that said transparent hinged pane is detachable from the frame of the fumehood.

4. The front sash closure according to claim 3 wherein each of said hinges comprises a spring-biased male finger mounted to said transparent hinged pane and a female recess formed in the frame of the fumehood.

5. The front sash closure according to claim 2 wherein each of said hinges comprises a male finger mounted to said transparent hinged pane and an inverted L-shaped female recess formed in the frame of the fumehood.

6. The front sash closure according to claim 5 further comprising two door hangs, wherein each of said door hangs comprises a slot for receiving said male finger.

7. The front sash closure according to claim 1 further comprising at least one latch for preventing movement of said transparent hinged pane relative to the frame of the fumehood.

8. The front sash closure according to claim 7 wherein said at least one latch comprises a concave member slidably mounted to said transparent hinged pane and a male projection which projects out of the frame of the fumehood.

9. The front sash closure according to claim 7 wherein said at least one latch comprises a pivot mounted to the frame which rotatably supports a latch body such that said latch body can be selectively withdrawn from the path of said transparent hinged pane or advanced into the path of said transparent hinged pane.

10. A fumehood, the fumehood comprising: a workspace defined by a frame and accessed by a front opening, wherein the frame comprises a back portion, a front portion, a top portion, a bottom portion and two side portions connecting the top portion to the bottom portion and the front portion to the back portion; and a front sash closure mounted to said frame, said front sash closure comprising: a transparent fixed pane securely mounted to the front portion of said frame of said fumehood so as to partially cover said front opening of said fumehood, whereby to reduce the size of said front opening of said fumehood to a working opening, the working opening having a top half and a bottom half, wherein the front portion of the frame surrounding the working opening forms a slanted face, with the slanted face slanting toward the back portion of the frame as the slanted face progresses from the bottom portion of the frame toward the top portion of the frame; and a transparent hinged pane hingedly mounted to said frame of said fumehood, wherein the transparent hinged pane is hingedly mounted to the frame of the fumehood at the midpoint of said working opening so that the transparent hinged pane can be rotated between (i) an up position in which the top half of said working opening is covered by said transparent hinged pane and the bottom half of said working opening is open, and (ii) a down position in which the bottom half of said working opening is covered by said transparent hinged pane and the top half of the said working opening is open, wherein the transparent hinged pane remains in the up position and the down position by gravity.

11. The fumehood according to claim 10 further comprising two hinges for hingedly mounting said transparent hinged pane to said frame of said fumehood.

12. The fumehood according to claim 11 wherein said hinges are configured so that said transparent hinged pane is detachable from said frame of said fumehood.

13. The fumehood according to claim 12 wherein each of said hinges comprises a spring-biased male finger mounted to said transparent hinged pane and a female recess formed in said frame of said fumehood.

14. The fumehood according to claim 11 wherein each of said hinges comprises a male finger mounted to said transparent hinged pane and an inverted L-shaped female recess formed in said frame of said fumehood.

15. The fumehood according to claim 14 further comprising two door hangs, wherein each of said door hangs comprises a slot for receiving said male finger.

16. The fumehood according to claim 10 further comprising at least one latch for preventing movement of said transparent hinged pane relative to said frame of said fumehood.

17. The fumehood according to claim 10 wherein said fumehood is ductless.

18. A method for handling hazardous substances, said method comprising: providing a fumehood, said fumehood comprising: a workspace defined by a frame and accessed by a front opening, wherein the frame comprises a back portion, a front portion, a top portion, a bottom portion and two side portions connecting the top portion to the bottom portion and the front portion to the back portion; and a front sash closure mounted to said frame, said front sash closure comprising: a transparent fixed pane securely mounted to the front portion of said frame of said fumehood so as to partially cover said front opening of said fumehood, whereby to reduce the size of said front opening of said fumehood to a working opening, the working opening having a top half and a bottom half, wherein the front portion of the frame surrounding the working opening forms a slanted face, with the slanted face slanting toward the back portion of the frame as the slanted face progresses from the bottom portion of the frame toward the top portion of the frame; and a transparent hinged pane hingedly mounted to said frame of said fumehood, wherein the transparent hinged pane is hingedly mounted to the frame of the fumehood at the midpoint of said working opening so that the transparent hinged pane can be rotated between (i) an up position in which the top half of said working opening is covered by said transparent hinged pane and the bottom half of said working opening is open, and (ii) a down position in which the bottom half of said working opening is covered by said transparent hinged pane and the top half of the said working opening is open, wherein the transparent hinged pane remains in the up position and the down position by gravity; and positioning the hazardous substances within said workspace of said fumehood.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) These and other objects and features of the present invention will be more fully disclosed or rendered obvious by the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, which are to be considered together with the accompanying drawings wherein like numbers refer to like parts and further wherein:

(2) FIGS. 1-4 are schematic views showing a prior art ductless fumehood;

(3) FIGS. 5-10 are schematic views showing a novel ductless fumehood formed in accordance with the present invention;

(4) FIGS. 11-16 are schematic views showing various construction details of the novel ductless fumehood shown in FIGS. 5-10;

(5) FIGS. 17-19 are schematic views showing another novel ductless fumehood formed in accordance with the present invention;

(6) FIGS. 20-24 are schematic views showing various construction details of the novel ductless fumehood shown in FIGS. 17-19; and

(7) FIG. 25 is a schematic view showing another form of ductless fumehood formed in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(8) The present invention comprises the provision and use of an improved front sash closure for a ductless fumehood, and/or a ducted fumehood, which addresses the foregoing issues.

(9) More particularly, and looking now at FIGS. 5-10, in one preferred form of the present invention, there is provided a ductless fumehood 5 having a novel front sash closure 100. Novel front sash closure 100 comprises a transparent fixed pane 105 and a transparent hinged pane 110.

(10) Transparent fixed pane 105 is securely mounted to frame 12 of ductless fumehood 5 so as to partially cover the front opening 115 of the ductless fumehood. By way of example but not limitation, transparent fixed pane 105 may be sized so as to cover approximately 25% of the area of front opening 115, whereby to reduce the size of front opening 115 to a working opening 120. In one preferred form of the invention, transparent fixed pane 105 is disposed at the upper end of front opening 115, so that working opening 120 is disposed at the bottom end of front opening 115 (i.e., adjacent to workbase 20, in the manner shown in FIGS. 5-10).

(11) Transparent hinged pane 110 is hingedly mounted to the frame of ductless fumehood 5 intermediate working opening 120 so as to be able to selectively cover a portion of working opening 120. More particularly, in one preferred form of the invention, transparent hinged pane 110 is sized so as to have an area which is 50% of the area of working opening 120, and is hingedly mounted to the frame 12 of ductless fumehood 5 midpoint in working opening 120, so that transparent hinged pane 110 is selectively able to cover either (i) the top half of working opening 120 (FIG. 5) or (ii) the bottom half of working opening 120 (FIG. 6).

(12) In one preferred form of the invention, two hinges 125 are used to hingedly mount transparent hinged pane 110 to frame 12 of ductless fumehood 5. In addition, two latches 130 are provided to allow transparent hinged pane 110 to be locked in its up position (i.e., so that transparent hinged pane 110 covers the upper half of working opening 120, in the manner shown in FIG. 5) or in its down position (i.e., so that transparent hinged pane 110 covers the lower half of working opening 120, in the manner shown in FIG. 6).

(13) As a result of the foregoing construction, in situations where the objects to be manipulated (e.g., test tubes, beakers, etc.) sit directly on workbase 20 and are relatively short, transparent hinged pane 110 is set in its up position (i.e., so that transparent hinged pane 110 covers the upper half of working opening 120 and exposes the lower half of working opening 120, in the manner shown in FIG. 5) so as to provide personnel with appropriate access to the objects which are to be manipulated. However, in situations where the objects to be manipulated sit elevated above workbase 20 (e.g., on a stand or pole) and/or are relatively tall, hinged pane 110 is set in its down position (i.e., so that transparent hinged pane 110 covers the lower half of working opening 120 and exposes the upper half of working opening 120, in the manner shown in FIG. 6) so as to provide personnel with appropriate access to the objects which are to be manipulated.

(14) In one preferred form of the invention, hinges 125 are configured so as to be releasable, whereby to allow personnel to remove transparent hinged pane 110 from ductless fumehood 5, e.g., for providing increased access to enclosed workspace 10 (e.g., when introducing or removing apparatus), for servicing or replacement of transparent hinged pane 110, etc. By way of example but not limitation, in one preferred form of the invention, and looking now at FIGS. 11-15, each of the hinges 125 may comprise a spring-biased male finger 135 mounted to transparent hinged pane 110 and a female recess 140 formed in frame 12 of ductless fumehood 5, with a button 145 being provided to allow spring-biased male finger 135 to be moved inboard, whereby to release transparent hinged pane 110 from frame 12. More particularly, in this form of the invention, each of the hinges 125 may comprise a housing 146 which is mounted to transparent hinged pane 110. A spring 147 biases male finger 135 outboard of transparent hinged pane 110, toward female recess 140, such that male finger 135 can extend into female recess 140, whereby to hingedly mount transparent hinged pane 110 to frame 12. Button 145 allows male finger 135 to be forced inboard, against the power of spring 147, whereby to remove male finger 135 from female recess 140, whereby to release transparent hinged pane 110 from frame 12. In one preferred form of the invention, female recess 140 is formed in a housing 148 which is mounted to frame 12.

(15) If desired, and looking now at FIG. 16, latches 130 may comprise a concave member 149 which is slidably mounted to transparent hinged pane 110, and a male projection 150 which projects out of frame 12. In accordance with the present invention, concave member 149 is able to move outboard from transparent hinged pane 110 so as to envelop male projection 150 of frame 12, whereby to latch transparent hinged pane 110 in position on ductless fumehood 5. Correspondingly, concave member 149 is able to move inboard relative to transparent hinged pane 110 so as to separate from male projection 150 of frame 12, whereby to unlatch transparent hinged pane 110 from frame 12.

(16) Looking next at FIGS. 17-24, there is shown another preferred form of the present invention. More particularly, in this form of the invention, ductless fumehood 5 comprises alternative hinges 125A (FIGS. 17-20), alternative latches 130A (FIGS. 21 and 22) and a door hang 160 (FIGS. 23 and 24). As seen in FIGS. 17-20, each of the hinges 125A comprises a fixed male finger 165 mounted to transparent hinged pane 110 and an inverted L-shaped female recess 170 formed on frame 12 of ductless fumehood 5. In one preferred form of the invention, inverted L-shaped female recess 170 is formed by a bracket 175 which is mounted to frame 12, with bracket 175 comprising a horizontal slot 180 and a vertical slot 185. In this embodiment, transparent hinged pane 110 is hung on frame 12 by inserting its fixed male finger 165 along horizontal slot 180 of inverted L-shaped female recess 170 and then allowing fixed male finger 175 to settle, under the influence of gravity, into the bottom end of vertical slot 185. It will be appreciated that when fixed male finger 175 is disposed at the bottom end of vertical slot 185, transparent hinged pane 110 will be rotatably supported by hinge 125A.

(17) It will also be appreciated that when transparent hinged pane 110 is disposed in its lower position (i.e., the position shown in FIG. 17), gravity holds transparent hinged pane 110 in position and latches 130A (FIGS. 21 and 22) may be used to lock transparent hinged pane 110 in that position. In this respect it will be appreciated that each latch 130A comprises a pivot 190 which rotatably supports a latch body 195 to frame 12, such that latch body 195 can be selectively withdrawn from the path of transparent hinged pane 110 (FIG. 21) or advanced into the path of transparent hinged pane 110 (FIG. 22), whereby to unlatch or latch transparent hinged pane 110, respectively. When transparent hinged pane 110 is to be positioned in its upper position (i.e., the position shown in FIG. 19), latches 130A are unlocked (FIG. 21), transparent hinged pane 110 is swung upward (FIGS. 18 and 19) and then, after transparent hinged pane 110 has been positioned in its upper position (i.e., the position shown in FIG. 19), latches 130A are moved into their locked position (FIG. 22). This action keeps transparent hinged pane 110 from unintentionally falling back into its lower position (i.e., the position shown in FIG. 17).

(18) Note that gravity holds fixed male finger 175 at the bottom end of vertical slot 185 regardless of the position of transparent hinged pane 110.

(19) In some situations it may be desirable to have an enlarged opening with which to access workspace 10 (e.g., when introducing or removing apparatus, etc.). In this situation, transparent hinged pane 110 may be removed from frame 12 by lifting transparent hinged pane 110 upward so that its fixed male finger 165 moves upward along vertical slot 185 and then forward along horizontal slot 180 so that fixed male finger 165 is withdrawn from inverted L-shaped female recess 170, whereby to free transparent hinged pane 110 from frame 12. Transparent hinged pane 110 may then be hung on door hangs 160 (FIGS. 23 and 24) by slipping fixed male finger 165 of transparent hinged pane 110 into slots 200 of door hangs 160.

(20) In one preferred form of the present invention, and looking now at FIG. 23, transparent hinged pane 110 may comprise a semi-circular opening 205 and a circular opening 210 adjacent to the edge 215 of transparent hinged pane 110 (i.e., the edge which engages workbase 20). Semi-circular opening 205 and circular opening 210 are sized and positioned so as to accommodate a thumb and finger of personnel, whereby to allow personnel to move transparent hinged pane 110 on its hinges 125A (or 125), whereby to allow transparent hinged pane 110 to be moved between its up and down positions.

(21) In another form of the present invention, and looking now at FIG. 25, transparent fixed pane 105 can be disposed at the bottom end of front opening 115, so that working opening 120 is disposed at the top end of front opening 115. With this configuration, transparent hinged pane 110 is hingedly mounted to frame 12 of ductless fumehood 5 intermediate working opening 120 so as to selectively cover a portion of working opening 120.

Modifications of the Preferred Embodiments

(22) It should be understood that many additional changes in the details, operation, steps and arrangements of elements, which have been herein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of the present invention, may be made by those skilled in the art while still remaining within the principles and scope of the invention.