TOILET VENTILATION SYSTEM

Abstract

A toilet ventilation system includes a toilet with a sealing gasket between the toilet seat and bowl. An aperture is positioned in the sealing gasket to allow unpleasant odors to be vacuumed out of the toilet bowl via an exhaust tube. The exhaust tube is fitted onto a ventilator with filtered apertures and a fan. The fan creates the vacuum that forces contaminated air through the filtered apertures so that odorless air is released from the ventilator.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to bathroom ventilation. More particularly, the present invention relates to a toilet ventilation system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The flush toilet is a common plumbing fixture found in most developed societies. The flush toilet has a donut shaped seat which rests directly above and on top of a rim of a bowl of the toilet. Usually a small amount of water resides in the bottom of the bowl. Directly behind and above the bowl is typically a tank which stores water used during a flush. When a person pushes a handle located on the tank, it opens a flush valve which allows the water stored into the tank to quickly fill the bowl. The bowl has a siphon which then allows the buildup of water to flow through the siphon and into the building's plumbing system. After the tank is empty, the flush valve closes and the tank begins to refill. A water supply line is located within the tank. Usually a float is mechanically connected to a filler valve which then refills the tank until the water level rises to a certain point where the float now floating turns the filler valve off.

The toilet is primarily used for the disposal of blackwater. Blackwater describes wastewater containing fecal matter, urine, vomit and menstrual waste. Sometimes blackwater is referred to as brown water, foul water, or sewage. This is not the same as greywater or sullage, which is the residue of the washing process. However, in a typical home blackwater and greywater are both disposed into a common sewage system.

Unfortunately, when a person has to use the toilet to create blackwater, it may produce accompanying unpleasant odors and fumes. To solve this problem, bathroom ventilation is quite common. Bathroom ventilation typically resides directly above the toilet and is installed within the ceiling structure. The ventilation system typically comprises a fan that is ducted to the outside environment. The gasses and fumes are sucked into the ventilation system and then expelled into the environment before they are able to permeate to other areas of the dwelling beyond the bathroom. The ventilation system is usually controllable with a wall mounted switch that can turn on and off the ventilation fan.

The typical bathroom ventilation system still has several drawbacks. The person using the toilet may still experience the unpleasant odors, gasses, and fumes as they rise towards the overhead ventilation system. These odors are not only immediately unpleasant but can linger for some time depending upon the strength of the overhead ventilation system. These odors can also permeate into the clothing of the person who created them, and be unwittingly transported outside the bathroom area.

Accordingly, there is a need for a toilet ventilation system that purifies the air nearest to the source of the fumes. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides other related advantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a toilet ventilation system for clearing unpleasant odors created in the bowl of a toilet. The toilet ventilation system includes a toilet, with at least a bowl and a seat, a sealing gasket between the bowl and the seat, an exhaust tube, and a ventilator. The sealing gasket includes an aperture, and one end of the exhaust tube is positioned in or near this aperture. The other end of the exhaust tube is coextensive with the ventilator.

The toilet of the present invention may also include a tank and a lid. The sealing gasket between the bowl and the seat is made from a material that creates a seal that is air-impermeable. Such a material may be rubber or plastic. The aperture in the sealing gasket may be of a diameter that corresponds with the diameter of one or both of the ends of the exhaust tube.

The ventilator is attached to the free end of the exhaust tube. The ventilator may include a filter and a fan. The ventilator may also be hollow with the filter and fan positioned inside the ventilator. The fan creates negative pressure inside the toilet bowl when a person is sitting on the seat, such that any odors near the surface of the water in the bowl are drawn out the exhaust tube and filtered through the ventilator. The filter of the ventilator may be made of paper, fabric, or carbon fibers. The material of the filter may also be chemically treated so as to enhance its ability to filter odors.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention. In such drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the toilet ventilation system, illustrating a toilet, the exhaust tube, and ventilator;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the present invention, illustrating the toilet with the lid lifted;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the present invention, illustrating the toilet with the lid and the seat lifted;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the toilet lid, illustrating the placement of the exhaust tube and ventilator;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, front view of the ventilator, illustrating the series of apertures therein;

FIG. 6 is a top view of the inside of the bottom half of the ventilator, illustrating the series of apertures therein;

FIG. 7 is a top view of the inside of the bottom half of the ventilator, illustrating the placement of the filter and fan therein;

FIG. 8 is a bottom-up view of the inside of the top half of the ventilator, illustrating the placement of the filter about the ventilator exhaust port;

FIG. 9 is a top view of the ventilator, illustrating the series of apertures as well as the fan, as seen through the ventilator exhaust port;

FIG. 10 is an exploded side view of the top half of the ventilator, illustrating the placement of the exhaust tube, inner washer, and filter;

FIG. 11 is an exploded side view of the bottom half of the ventilator, illustrating the placement of the fan, filter, and power source; and

FIG. 12 is a cut-away side schematic view of the ventilator, illustrating the pathway by which air is filtered through the ventilator.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

For the purpose of illustration, the toilet ventilation system of the present invention is generally referred to by the number 10. In FIG. 1, the toilet ventilation system 10 is illustrated. Here, a standard toilet 12 includes a tank 14, a lid 16, a seat 18 and a bowl 20. And exhaust tube 24 and ventilator 26 extend from the bowl 20 of the toilet 12. The toilet ventilation system 10 may be used in conjunction with other styles of toilet. For example, a public restroom style toilet that only has a bowl 20 and a seat 18 can be used with the toilet ventilation system 10. The embodiment illustrated herein utilizes the most common style of toilet 12 found in most U.S. homes.

The toilet 12 is illustrated with the lid 16 raised in FIG. 2. The lid 16 and seat 18 are joined to the bowl 20 of the toilet 12 by hinges 28 near the tank 14. The hinges 28 allow for the lid 16 to be raised while the seat 18 remains lowered, as shown. Alternately, the hinges 28 also allow for both the lid 16 and seat 18 to be lowered (as shown in FIG. 1), or for both the lid 16 and the seat 18 to be raised (as shown in FIG. 3). The tank 14 holds water used to flush waste from the bowl 20. This process is very well known in the art.

In FIG. 3, the toilet 12 is illustrated with both the lid 16 and seat 18 raised. In the present invention, the seat 18 includes a sealing gasket 22 attached to the bottom perimeter of the seat 18. The sealing gasket 22 is included to create an air-tight seal between the bottom of the seat 18 and the rim of the bowl 20. The present invention is directed at capturing and filtering unpleasant odors generated near the surface of the water contained in the bowl 20 of the toilet 12. Thus, the sealing gasket 22 is necessary to prevent the unpleasant odors from escaping from the toilet 12 through any gaps that may exist between the bottom of the seat 18 and the rim of the bowl 20. The sealing gasket 22 may be made of various compressible plastics, foams, rubber material or combinations thereof. It is preferred that the sealing gasket 22 is made from a durable material that can survive cleaning by industrial strength products without disintegrating.

Ideally, the sealing gasket 22 is made from a mold and/or mildew resistant plastic or contains an antimicrobial agent, such as silver containing compounds, or similar material. The sealing gasket 22 is designed to withstand years of repeated use. The sealing gasket 22 includes an aperture 34 along the circumference of the seat 18. The aperture is included for the purpose of providing an opening through which an exhaust tube 24 may pass. As shown in FIG. 3, the aperture 34 is advantageously positioned near the back of the seat 18. This lessens the chances of the exhaust tube 24 being knocked out of place while the toilet 12 is in use. The rear placement of the exhaust tube 24 and ventilator 26 is best illustrated in FIG. 4. The exhaust tube 24, ventilator 26 and associated sealing gasket aperture 34 may be positioned at any point along the perimeter of the toilet seat 18, but it will be understood by one of skill in the relevant art that these members are best placed at a point where they will not interfere with normal use of the toilet 12.

The ventilator 26 is shown enlarged in FIG. 5. In this embodiment, the ventilator 26 is spherical, like a ball. In other embodiments, the ventilator 26 may be cube-shaped, or any other shape that would facilitate venting unpleasant odors from a toilet 12. The exhaust tube 24 enters at the top of the ventilator 26. The ventilator 26 includes a series of apertures 32 around its surface. These apertures 32 facilitate the filtering and venting of unpleasant odors from the toilet 12. In this embodiment, the ventilator 26 may be separated into two halves along its equator. This allows for the inner contents of the ventilator 26 to be removed and replaced as needed.

The ventilator 26 is shown in various top-down and bottom-up views in FIGS. 6-9. In FIG. 6, the bottom half of the ventilator 26 is shown in a top-down view. Here, a series of apertures 34 are shown radiating from the center of the bottom half of the ventilator 26. The bottom half of the ventilator 26 is shown again in FIG. 7, installed with a filter 36 and a fan 38. The filter 36 may be made of paper, or fabric, or some other material that is suitable as a filter, such as charcoal. Additionally, the filter 36 may be chemically treated to enhance its odor filtering abilities. In the illustrated embodiment, the filter 36 is cut into a round, donut-shape. The outer diameter of the filter 36 is slightly larger than the outer circumference of the ventilator 26. When the filter 36 is pushed into the bottom half of the ventilator 26, it conforms to the inner surface of the ventilator 26. This means that most of the apertures 32 (FIG. 6) are obstructed by the filter 36. Any air exiting the ventilator 26 is therefore forced to pass through the filter 36.

The fan 38 is positioned in the bottom of the ventilator 26, as shown in FIG. 7. The fan 38 can be formed from a variety of fan types and is not intended to be limited by this disclosure. The fan 38 operates in reverse to create a vacuum inside the ventilator 26. This vacuum extends to the exhaust tube 24 and effectively draws air out of the toilet 12 from near the surface of the water in the bowl 20. There is a volume of air near the surface of the water in the bowl 20 that is contained therein by the seal created by the sealing gasket 22 and the posterior of the user who is sitting on the seat 18 of the toilet 12. As such, the only escape route for this air is through the exhaust tube 24. As this air is suctioned out through the exhaust tube 24 by the vacuum created by the fan 38, any unpleasant odors therein are evacuated as well. As the air with the unpleasant odors is suctioned into the ventilator 26, it is passed through the filter 36 within the ventilator 26 before it is finally vented to the outside of the toilet ventilation system 10.

The top half of the ventilator 26, taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 5 is shown in FIG. 8. Another filter 36 is pressed into this half of the ventilator 26 in the same manner described above. The top half of the ventilator 26 features a ventilator exhaust port 46 in the center. This ventilator exhaust port 46 provides an aperture through which the exhaust tube 24 can be fit. When the two halves of the ventilator 26 are assembled together, the fan 38 can be seen through the ventilator exhaust port 46, in the top-down view of the ventilator 26 of FIG. 9.

An exploded view of the ventilator 26 is illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11. In FIG. 10, an exploded view of the top half of the ventilator 26 is shown. Here, it can be seen that the filter 36 has an outer diameter that is slightly larger than the circumference of the ventilator 26. This is so the filter 36 can be pushed into the top half of the ventilator 26 such that the filter 36 substantially conforms to the inside of this portion of the ventilator 26. The top half of the ventilator 26 also includes a washer 42. The washer 42 is included to help create an air-tight seal between an exhaust tube flange 40 of the exhaust tube 24 and the inside of the ventilator 26. In this way, the ventilator 26 can effectively capture and filter all the odors that are vacuumed from the interior of the toilet 12. The exhaust tube flange 40 has a diameter that is larger than the diameter of the ventilator exhaust port 46. The exhaust tube 24 is preferably made of a flexible material, such as rubber or plastic. This enables the exhaust tube 24 and exhaust tube flange 40 to be temporarily deformed when pressed through the ventilator exhaust port 46. The exhaust tube 24 and exhaust tube flange 40 then return to their correct shape and are retained therein.

The filter 36 for the bottom half of the ventilator 26 is illustrated in FIG. 11. The filter 36 for the bottom half of the ventilator 26 has an outer diameter that is slightly larger than the circumference of the ventilator 26, as described above. The bottom half of the ventilator 26 also includes a fan 38. The fan 38 is positioned at the center of the filter 36 in the bottom of the ventilator 26. The fan 38 is attached to a power source 44. The power source 44 may be a battery as shown schematically, or in other embodiments may be a connection to an electrical outlet, or some other known power source. The power source 44 may be retained within the ventilator 26, as shown, or may be positioned external to the ventilator 26. It may also be possible to obtain energy from the flush cycle of the toilet 12 through various hydro-power generation methods. The power source 44 may come from a variety of sources, and is not intended to be limited by this disclosure. A series of apertures 32 through the surface of the ventilator 26 are positioned across the top and bottom halves of the ventilator 26, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11.

There are also many ways to activate the fan 38 such that it is not running endlessly when not needed. For instance, in one embodiment the fan 38 can be activated when the lid 16 is open relative to the seat 18 (FIG. 2). A switch could sense when the lid 16 was opened and thereby activate the fan 38. In another embodiment, the seat 18 could include a pressure sensor that would register when a person was sitting on the seat 18 and thereby activate the fan 38. In another embodiment, an on/off switch could be located on the seat 18 such that a user could manually select whether the fan 38 is activated. In yet another embodiment, the fan 38 can be controlled from a wall mounted switch. The switch could send an infrared or remote signal to the fan 38 which could include a receiver to remotely activate the fan 38. Alternately, a wall mounted switch could be hard-wired directly to the fan 38. A switch for the fan 38 could also be devised that works on a combination of the methods described herein.

The direction of air-flow through the ventilator 26 is illustrated in FIG. 12. As described above, the fan 38 operates in reverse to create a vacuum within the ventilator 26. Air is pulled through the exhaust tube 24 from the toilet 12 near the surface of the water in the bowl 20 (not shown). As pressure builds within the ventilator 26 from the vacuum created therein, the air is forced out of the ventilator apertures 32. Before the air can exit the ventilator 26, it must pass through the filters 36. As the air passes through the filters 36, any unpleasant odors are retained within the filters 36. As such, only odor-free air leaves the ventilator 26 through the apertures 32. In this way, unpleasant odors produced within the bowl 20 of the toilet 12 (not shown) are neutralized by the toilet ventilation system 10.

There are several advantages to the toilet ventilation system 10 described here. First, polluted air is captured and filtered closest to the source. Second, the seat 18 and sealing gasket 22 work together to effectively trap and corral polluted air for filtration. Furthermore, the toilet ventilation system 10 also reduces the chance that excess odors and pollutants leave the confines of the bathroom. The toilet ventilation system 10 also helps to muffle noises that are usually associated with making a bowel movement. Finally, the toilet ventilation system 10 is easily retrofitted onto existing toilets 12.

Although several embodiments have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications may be made to each without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited, except as by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A toilet ventilation system comprising:

a toilet comprising at least a bowl and a seat;

a sealing gasket between the bowl and the seat, wherein the sealing gasket has at least one aperture;

an exhaust tube having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is extends through the aperture in the sealing gasket and the second end extends away from the toilet seat; and

a ventilator connected to the second end of the exhaust tube.

2. The toilet ventilation system of claim 1, wherein the sealing gasket creates an air-impermeable seal between the bowl and the seat.

3. The toilet ventilation system of claim 2, wherein the sealing gasket comprises compressible plastic, foam, rubber, or combinations thereof.

4. The toilet ventilation system of claim 2, wherein the sealing gasket comprises a mold and mildew resistant plastic or contains a silver-based antimicrobial agent.

5. The toilet ventilation system of claim 1, wherein the diameter of the sealing gasket aperture corresponds to the diameter of the first end of the exhaust tube.

6. The toilet ventilation system of claim 1, wherein the ventilator further comprises a filter and a fan.

7. The toilet ventilation system of claim 6, wherein the filter comprises one or more layers of filtering material.

8. The toilet ventilation system of claim 7, wherein the filtering material is paper, fabric, or carbon fibers.

9. The toilet ventilation system of claim 7, wherein the filtering material is chemically treated to enhance its ability to filter odors.

10. The toilet ventilation system of claim 6, wherein the ventilator is hollow, and the filter and fan are positioned within the hollow ventilator.

11. The toilet ventilation system of claim 1, wherein the ventilator further comprises one or more apertures to encourage air-flow through the exhaust tube.

12. A toilet ventilation system comprising:

a toilet comprising at least a bowl and a seat;

a sealing gasket between the bowl and seat, the sealing gasket having one aperture;

an exhaust tube with a first end and a second end, the first end extending through the aperture in the sealing gasket such that the first end is adjacent to the bowl of the toilet, the second end extending away from the seat; and

a ventilator connected to with the second end of the exhaust tube.

13. The toilet ventilation system of claim 12, wherein the sealing gasket creates an air-impermeable seal between the bowl and the seat, the sealing gasket comprising compressible plastic, foam, rubber, or combinations thereof.

14. The toilet ventilation system of claim 13, wherein the sealing gasket further comprises a mold and mildew resistant plastic or contains a silver-based antimicrobial agent.

15. The toilet ventilation system of claim 12, wherein the ventilator further comprises a filter and a fan.

16. The toilet ventilation system of claim 15, wherein the ventilator is hollow, with the filter and fan disposed within the hollow ventilator.

17. The toilet ventilation system of claim 16, wherein the filter comprises one or more layers of filtering material, the filtering material comprising paper, fabric, or carbon fibers.

18. The toilet ventilation system of claim 17, wherein the filtering material of the filter is chemically treated to enhance its ability to filter odors.

19. The toilet ventilation system of claim 12, wherein the ventilator further comprises one or more apertures to encourage air-flow through the exhaust tube.

20. A toilet ventilation system comprising:

a toilet comprising a bowl and a seat;

a sealing gasket between the bowl and the seat, wherein the sealing gasket comprises compressible plastic, foam, rubber, or combinations thereof and comprises a mold and mildew resistant plastic or contains a silver-based antimicrobial agent, the sealing gasket having an aperture;

an exhaust tube having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end extends through the aperture of the sealing gasket such that the first end is adjacent to the bowl of the toilet, the second end extending away from the toilet seat;

a hollow ventilator connected to the second end of the exhaust tube, the ventilator containing a filter and a fan, the filter comprising one or more layers of chemically treated filtering material, the ventilator comprising a series of apertures to encourage air-flow through the exhaust tube; and

a power source connected to the fan within the ventilator.