Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
3(~5 ~2~
- IMPROVE~D TOILE~T STOOL VENTILATING MEA:NS
This invention relates to a toilet stool ventilating means. More
specifically, this invention provides an improved toilet stool ventilating
means which utilizes a housed -filter element in communica~ion with a
conduit of an adapter plate.
Various other types of toilet stool ventilating devices are known in
the prior art as operable for removing contamina~ed air and odors from
within a toilet bowl. However, ~hese devices are generally costly to
manufacture and unsightly in appearance as well as requiring specially
designed toile~ bowls and additional air receiving rings or the like attached
10 to the seats or the toilet bowl structure. Additionally, some of these
prior art devices require mounting of the filter unit in a remote location
not immediately adjacent to the toilet stool which o-ften times then makes
it not easily accessible for filter replacement. One known means of
ventilating a toilet stool is to attach an inlet conduit to the seat or to the
bowl area and connect the conduit to a filtering unit placed elsewhere; this
is not generally satisfactory because of the general unsightly appearance of
the additional structure needed to be added to the toilet stool and ~he re-
motely placed filtering unit. Another common means of ventilating a
bathroom is by using ceiling or wall vents to carry contaminated air
20 from the room; this is generally not satisfactory because of removal of
a large quantity of heated or air-conditioned air which must be replaced. `
Therefore, what is needed and what has been invented by me is an im-
proved toilet stool ven~ilating means without the foregoing deficiences
associated with the prior art. ;
The present invention accomplishes its desired objects by broadly ,
providing an improved toilet stool mounted on a supporting surface and `
including a generally annular conduit having an exit aperture and intake
openings in communica~ion with the ins~le of the ~oilet bowl. The seat
circumscribes the upper rim of the toilet bowl when in a lowered posi~ion.
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3u A tank is mounted on the toilet s~ool and includes a flushing liquid and
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eans connected therein to supply the flushing liquid ~o the toilet bowl
through a discharge conduit. rhe improvement is a ventilating means
which comprises an adapter plate situated underneath the tank and having
the conduit seat pivotally at~ached thereto. The adapter plate has a
structure defining a conduit which is in communication with the exit
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aperture of the seat, A housed filter element which has an outlet and an
inlet is additionally included and is in communication with ~he conduit seat
through the conduit of the adapter. The ven~ilating means also has a means
for removing normally con~aminated air from the inside of the toilet bowl
10 through the intake openings, the exit aperture, the conduit of the adapter
pla~e, the inlet and the filter element, in order stated, for deodorizing
the normally contaminated air and passing i~ into the surrounding atmosphere.
A switch means is connected to the rim and is operably connected to the
means for removing such that pressure exerted on the top oE the seat ;
operates the swi~ch means to activate the means for removing.
It is therefore an objec~ of this invention to provide an improved
toilet stool ventilating means which overcomes the aforementioned dis-
advar~age's associated with prior art devices.
It is another o~ject of this invention to provide an improved toilet
20 stoo~ ventilating means which can be used within a conventional toilet stool
structure without substantially altering its appearance.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide an improved
toilet stool ventilating means which utilizes a filter, is easy to clean, and
is also efficient and relatively economical to ~anufacture arld operate.
These, together with various ancillary objects and features which
will become apparent as the following description pro~eeds are obtained
by this novel ventilating means for a toilet stool, a preferred embodiment
being shown in the accompanying drawings, by way of example only, wherein:
~ ig. 1 is a partial vertical sectional view disclosing the filter
3~) element and blower housed within the tank behind a watertight partition and ~ -
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i n communication with a condui~ in the adapter plate;
~ ig. 2 is a front elevational ~7iew of the toilet stool of ~ig. 1 having
a cut away portion showing the watertigh~ partition separating the filter
element and the blower from the flushing liquid;
~ ig. 3 is a partial top plan view of the stool and tank disclosing
in dashed lines an embodiment of the adapter plate conduit;
Fig. 4 is a partial top plan view of another embodiment of the
stool and tank disclosing in dashed lines the adapter plate conduit being
pierced by a flushing liquid discharge conduit;
Fig. S is a fragmentary vertical sectional view disclosing
the filter element and blower housed with a compartment connected under-
neath the adapter plate;
l~ig. 6 is a partial vertical sectional view taken along the line 6-6
in ~ig. 4; and
~ ig~ 7 is a partial enlarged vertical sectional view of the switch
means which activates the blower when pressure is applied to the toilet
seat.
Referring in detail now to the drawings, wherein similar or
like par~s of the invention are identified by like reference numerals, a
20 toilet stool, generally illustrated as 10, is mounted on a supporting surface
12 and has an annular conduit seat 14 horizontally and pivotally attached
to an adapter plate L6, and is essentially aligned therewith when the seat
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14 is in a lowered position as shown in ~igs. 1, 2, 5 and 6. Conduit seat ;
14 has exit aperture 18 and intake openings 20 which are in communication
with the inside of the toilet stool 10. The seat 14 circumscribes an upper
rim 22 of the toilet stool 10. A tank 24 with lid 25 is mounted on top of
adapter plate 16 and has a flushing liquid 17 and means 26 connected
therein to supply the flushing liquid 17 from the tank 24 to the
toilet stool 10 through a discharge conduit 28. The adapter plate 16 has
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^0 a conduit 30 which is in communication with exit aperture 18 and is sealed
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~t 62. The discharge conduit 28 pierces condui~ 30 in ~igs. 4 and 6 such
that the contaminated air being removed from the toilet stool lO generally
flows around the conduit 30. ~igs. 1-3, and 5 disclose the discharge
conduit 30 as being conventional and not piercing conduit 30.
A housed filter (preferably charcoal) element 32 has inlet 31
and outlet 33 and is in communication with conduit 30, and a means 34 is
attached to filter 32 for removing normally contaminated air from the
inside of the toilet s~ool 10 through the following: intake openings 20, -
exit aperture 18, conduit 30, inlet 31, filter 32, and outlet 33, in order
stated, for deodorizing the normally contaminated air and passing it into
the atmosphere. Means 34 may be any suitable means but is preferably
a blower and has a conduc~or 35 with a plug 37 attached there~o for insertion
into a source of power (not shown in the drawings).
A switch means, generally indicated as 36, is connected to rim
22 and is electrically operably connected by conductors 38 to conductor
35 such that pressure exerted on the top of seat 14 operates switch means
36 to activate the means for removing 34. Switch means 36 may be any
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suitable switch which is capable of closing an electrical circuit.
Preferably, switch means 36 is a plunger-type as fully disclosed in l~ig. 7.
~ ig. 7 shows seat 14 compressing a plunger 40 which is slidably
lodged within a sleeve 42 having a spring 44 for upwardly biasing the
plunger 40 against the seat 14 when it is not being used. Contact bar 46
is pivotally fastened within housing 48 and is pivoted against a micro-
switch 50 (well known within the art) by the downward force of the plunger
40. Mi~ro- swit~h 50 closes the circuit and activates the blower 34 .
Filter element 32 and the blower 34 attached thereto have two
preferred embodiments for their loca~ion. l~igs. 1 and 2 disclose a first
embodiment showing the filter 32 and blower 34 removably housed in the
tank 24. A watertight partition 52 is attached to the internal walls of the
tank 24 to
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prevent filter 32 and blower 34 from being inundated with flushLng liquid 17.
~ilter 32 is lodged in compartment 54. ~ig. 5 discloses a second embodiment
where filter 32 and blower 34 are removably housed in a compartment 56
which is attached underneath the adapter plate 16 and has a door 57.
Embodiment one discharges purified air from underneath the lid 25 (see
l~ig, 1), and the second embodiment discharges purifiecl air into the sur-
rounding atmosphere through louvers 60 (see ~ig. 5)
With continual reference to the clrawings for operation of the inven-
tion, seat 14 (normally biased upward by a spring which is not shown in the
drawings) when used is lowered such that plunger 40 is driven against
contact bar 46 which causes micro-switch 50 to close the electrical circuit
on conductors 38 and 35 and activate the blower 34. When operating the
blower 34 creates a vacuum through filter 32 and conduit 30 such that
contaminated air within stool 10 is sucked through intake openings 20,
through conduit 30, and through filter 32 wherein purification takes place.
Purified air egresses through outlet 33 and is blown into the surrounding
atmosphere by blower 34 either through louvers 60 (~ig. 5) or underneath
lid 25 (~ig. 1).
The path which the normally contaminated air takes to the inlet 31
of filter 32 depends on whether the embodiment in Fig. 3 is being used or
the embodiment of Fig. 4 which causes the contaminated air to be swirled
around discharge conduit 28 is being used. As aforementioned the em-
bodiment of ~ig. 3 discloses the discharge conduit 28 as not piercing the .
conduit 30 and is somewhat conven~ional. After pressure is released from
the top of seat 14 it is upwardly biased by a spring (not shown in the ~ ~drawings) such that seat 14 is lifted off the top of plunger 40. This ~;
causes spring 44 to upwardly bias the plunger away from the contact bar
to open the electrical circuit on conductors 38 and 35 and deactivate the
blower 34.
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