Odor-free kitchen

Abstract

Methods and articles of manufacture are disclosed for more efficient ventilation of fumes and odor laden air from the kitchen. Flexible or three dimensionally moveable auxiliary ducts are used to further connect the kitchen's permanent/existing ventilation system to the pots and pans during the cooking or frying processes to suck the fume or odor laden air at the time it leaves the cooking container. In various embodiments the auxiliary ducts are permanently, semi-permanently, or detachably connected to the kitchen's existing ventilation system and/or to the pots and pans. In some embodiments the auxiliary ducts may have their own active suction component(s) and/or filter(s).

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A cooking fume ventilation apparatus for removing cooking fume and odor-laden air while leaving a cookware, the ventilation apparatus comprising:
 an auxiliary duct having an air entrance end and an air exit end, wherein at least a part of the cooking fume and the odor-laden air leaving the cooking container enters the air entrance end and, after passing through the auxiliary duct, leaves the duct from the air exit end into a permanent or existing kitchen ventilation system;   an air entrance attachment component for attaching the air entrance end of the auxiliary duct to the cookware or for placing the air entrance end of the auxiliary duct close to the cookware; and   an air exit attachment component for attaching the air exit end of the auxiliary duct to a permanent or existing kitchen ventilation system or for placing the air exit end of the auxiliary duct close to the existing kitchen ventilation system.   
     
     
         2 . The ventilation apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the auxiliary duct is a flexible hose. 
     
     
         3 . The ventilation apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the auxiliary duct has an auxiliary suction mechanism to suck the cooking fume and odor-laden air inside the duct and expel the cooking fume and odor-laden air outside the duct and into the existing kitchen ventilation system. 
     
     
         4 . The ventilation apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the cooking fume and odor-laden air is sucked into the duct by the existing kitchen ventilation system. 
     
     
         5 . The ventilation apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the air entrance attachment is a permanent attachment component, a magnet, a clip, a hook, a stand, or a linkage or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         6 . The ventilation apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the exit attachment is a permanent attachment component, a magnet, a clip, a hook, a stand, or a linkage or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         7 . The ventilation apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the auxiliary duct is attached to a positioning arm for positioning the air entrance of the duct at any desired position over a cooking surface of a stove. 
     
     
         8 . The ventilation apparatus of  claim 1 , further including an air filter, an air suction mechanism or both. 
     
     
         9 . The ventilation apparatus of  claim 1 , further including smoke and/or odor sensors and an automatic stirring mechanism to automatically detect a source of smoke and/or odor and move the air entrance of the auxiliary duct to a close vicinity of the smoke and/or odor source. 
     
     
         10 . The ventilation apparatus of  claim 1 , further including a specific or a universal cookware top permanently or detachably attached to the auxiliary duct air entrance. 
     
     
         11 . The ventilation apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the permanent or existing kitchen ventilation system has or does not have an active suction mechanism. 
     
     
         12 . A cooking smoke and/or odor ventilation method comprising:
 attaching a first end of an auxiliary duct to an air entrance of a permanent or existing kitchen ventilation system;   placing a second end of the auxiliary duct desirably close to a source of smoke and/or odor generation on a stove top; and   causing at least a part of odor and/or smoke laden air to pass through the auxiliary duct.   
     
     
         13 . The ventilation method of  claim 12 , wherein the second end of the auxiliary duct substantially covers the source of smoke and/or odor. 
     
     
         14 . The ventilation method of  claim 12 , wherein the auxiliary duct has an auxiliary suction mechanism to suck the cooking fume and odor-laden air inside the duct and expel the cooking fume and odor-laden air outside the duct and into the existing kitchen ventilation system. 
     
     
         15 . The ventilation method of  claim 12 , wherein the cooking fume and odor-laden air is sucked into the duct by the existing kitchen ventilation system. 
     
     
         16 . The ventilation method of  claim 12 , wherein the second end of the auxiliary duct is permanently or detachably attached to a source of smoke and/or odor by a magnet, a clip, a hook, a stand, or a linkage or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         17 . The ventilation method of  claim 12 , wherein the first end of the auxiliary duct is permanently or detachably attached to the air entrance of a permanent or existing kitchen ventilation system by a magnet, a clip, a hook, a stand, or a linkage or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         18 . The ventilation method of  claim 12 , wherein the auxiliary duct is attached to a positioning arm for positioning the second end of the duct at any desired position over a cooking surface of a stove. 
     
     
         19 . The ventilation method of  claim 12 , wherein the auxiliary duct further includes an air filter, an air suction mechanism or both. 
     
     
         20 . The ventilation method of  claim 12 , wherein the auxiliary duct further includes smoke and/or odor sensors and an automatic stirring mechanism to automatically detect a source of smoke and/or odor and move the second end of the auxiliary duct to a close vicinity of the smoke and/or odor source.