Abstract:
A system for removing odorous air from a toilet bowl into a sewer line includes a toilet seat defining a plurality of air inlets spaced apart along a bottom side and an air outlet at a rear side with an internal channel connecting the air inlets and outlet. The system includes an air pump suitable for mounting to a rear of the toilet for connection to the toilet seat with tubing. A pressure sensor on the seat actuates the pump to draw air through the inlets to the pump upon sensing the pressure of a user thereon. Additional tubing extends from the pump through the toilet wax ring for exhausting the air into a sewer line. A check valve on the additional tubing prevents return of sewer gas into the system.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention relates generally to odor removing systems and, more particularly, to a system for exhausting air from a toilet bowl into a sewer line. 
   It is desirable to eliminate or diminish powerful bathroom odors. One common method for conquering bathroom odors is by attempting to overpower the odor with a deodorizing spray or solid element. Another common method is to utilize a wall or ceiling mounted fan to draw odors into a wall or attic. 
   Along with the methods mentioned above, various other proposals have been made in the prior art for venting odors away from a toilet bowl. While assumably effective for their intended purposes, the previous proposals do not provide an efficient means for drawing odors from a toilet bowl directly into the sewer system with minimal modification to the toilet or other structures. 
   Therefore, it would be desirable to have a system for exhausting air from a toilet bowl directly into a sewer line. Further, it would be desirable to have such a system that requires minimal modification to the toilet or surrounding structures. Still further, it would be desirable to have a system that is actuated by sensing the weight of a user upon the toilet seat. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   A system for removing odor by exhausting air from a toilet into a sewer line includes a toilet seat with a bottom surface defining an air inlet, an air outlet, and a channel within the seat connecting the air inlet and outlet. The system also includes an air pump having inlet and outlet ports. Tubing connects the seat air outlet to the pump inlet port so that the pump draws air from the seat into the pump inlet port. Additional tubing operatively connects the pump outlet port to a sewer line such that malodorous air drawn into the pump through the toilet seat is directed into the sewer line. A check valve is appropriately mounted to the tubing for preventing sewer gas from retreating to the pump or toilet seat. 
   Therefore, a general object of this invention is to provide a system for transferring odorous air from a toilet bowl into a sewer line. 
   Another object of this invention is to provide a system, as aforesaid, is to draw the air from the toilet bowl through a toilet seat using an air pump and from the air pump into the sewer line. 
   Still another object of this invention is to provide a system, as aforesaid, is to provide tubing from the toilet seat to the pump and from the pump to the sewer line. 
   Yet another object of this invention is to provide a system, as aforesaid, in which the tubing extends through the toilet&#39;s wax ring. 
   A further object of this invention is to provide a system, as aforesaid, that includes a pressure sensor for actuating the pump upon sensing the weight of a user upon the toilet seat. 
   Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example, embodiments of this invention. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a side view of a system for removing odor according to the present invention with the toilet being shown in phantom lines; 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the system as in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3   a  is a top view of the system as in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3   b  is a sectional view of the system taken along line  FIGS. 3   b — 3   b  of  FIG. 3   a;    
       FIG. 4   a  is a top view of the toilet seat removed from the toilet as in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 4   b  is a sectional view of the toilet seat taken along section  4   b — 4   b  of  FIG. 4   a;    
       FIG. 4   c  is perspective view of the toilet seat as in  FIG. 4   a;    
       FIG. 5   a  is a top view of the system according to another embodiment of the present invention; and 
       FIG. 5   b  is a sectional view taken along  FIGS. 5   b — 5   b  of  FIG. 5   a.    
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   A system according to the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to  FIGS. 1 through 5   b  of the accompanying drawings. More particularly, a system  100  according to the present invention for removing odor by exhausting air from a toilet  10  into a sewer line  20  includes a toilet seat  110  and an air pump  120 . 
   The toilet seat  110  mounts to the toilet  10  in a traditional manner and presents front and rear sides  112   a ,  112   b , opposed lateral sides  113   a ,  113   b , and top and bottom surfaces  114   a ,  114   b , as can be best seen in  FIGS. 4   a  through  4   c . The bottom surface  114   b  defines at least one air inlet  115 , and an air outlet  117  is preferably adjacent the rear side  112   b . The toilet seat bottom surface  114   b  preferably defines a plurality of air inlets  115  adjacent an inner edge  111  of the seat  110 , and the air inlets  115  are preferably concentrated more densely adjacent the front and rear sides  112   a ,  112   b  than adjacent the lateral sides  113   a ,  113   b  because odor is more likely to escape at the front and rear sides  112   a ,  112   b . A channel  116  between the top and bottom surfaces  114   a ,  114   b  connects the air inlet  115  to the air outlet  117 . The channel  116  is preferably a hollow portion  116  as shown in  FIG. 4   b . A filter is preferably situated adjacent the toilet seat air inlet  115  to prevent debris from entering the toilet seat air inlet  115 . The currently-preferred filter is a fabric cover that allows air to enter the toilet seat air inlet  115  and that is not odor-absorbent, though other filters may be used. 
   The air pump  120  has an inlet port  122  and an outlet port  124  ( FIGS. 1 and 3   b ) and may be mounted on a bottom, side, front surface  12   a , or rear surface  12   b  of a toilet tank  12 . The pump  120  may also be mounted inside the tank  12  or simply on a floor surface behind the toilet  10 . It is currently preferred to attach the pump  120  to the rear surface  12   b  of the tank  12  for aesthetics and installation and repair convenience, as shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  3   a ,  3   b ,  5   a , and  5   b.    
   Tubing  130  preferably connects the seat air outlet  117  to the pump inlet port  122  to allow the pump  120  to draw air from the seat air inlet  115  to the pump inlet port  122  ( FIG. 1 ), and additional tubing  140  operatively connects the pump outlet port  124  to the sewer line  20  ( FIGS. 3   b  and  5   a ). A check valve  128  is preferably incorporated between the seat air outlet  117  and the sewer line  20  to prevent the backflow of sewer gases through the system  100  when the pump  120  is not operating ( FIGS. 2 and 3   b ). The check valve  128  is preferably positioned in the additional tubing  140  between the pump outlet port  124  and the sewer line  20  to trap the sewer gases before they can reach the pump  120 . The tubing  130  and the additional tubing  140  are preferably flexible plastic tubing, and a clip  160  having an adhesive material  162  for attaching to the toilet  10  and having a configuration complementary to a configuration of the tubing  130  or the additional tubing  140  may be included for attaching the tubing  130  or the additional tubing  140  to the toilet  10  ( FIG. 1 ). 
   A switch  150  is in communication with the pump  120  to selectively actuate the pump  120  ( FIG. 4   c ). Though many types of switches  150  may be used, an activation sensor  152  is preferably attached to the toilet seat bottom surface  114   b  for selectively interacting with a rim  14  of the toilet  10 , as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 4   c . The activation sensor  152  is preferably a pressure switch that automatically actuates the pump  120  when a predetermined amount of pressure is applied to the toilet seat  110 . The pressure switch  152  may include a delay so that the pump  120  continues to be actuated for a predetermined amount of time after the predetermined amount of pressure is no longer applied to the toilet seat  110 . This delay would allow any odor that remains in the toilet  10  after the user leaves to be exhausted through the system  100 . This could also be accomplished by programming the pump  120  to run for a predetermined amount of time after the switch  150  is released. 
   In a preferred embodiment, the system  100  includes a spacer  170  and a wax ring  180  ( FIGS. 1 through 3   b ). The spacer  170  supports the toilet  10  and separates the toilet  10  from a floor surface. The spacer  170  defines a passageway  172  through which the additional tubing  140  extends ( FIGS. 2 and 3   b ). The wax ring  180  is similar to a typical wax ring used to seal the toilet  10  to a floor flange, but the wax ring  180  defines a cavity  182  through which the additional tubing  140  extends ( FIGS. 2 and 3   b ), allowing the air from the pump outlet port  124  to be exhausted into the sewer line  20  through the additional tubing  140 . If the spacer  170  does not have a footprint that is as large as a footprint of the toilet  10 , there will be a gap between the toilet  10  and the floor surface. Means for sealing the toilet  10  to the floor surface may be included to cover this gap, such as caulk or trim. 
   In use, the wax ring  180  is placed above the floor flange, and the spacer  170  is positioned about the wax ring  180 , as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 3   b . The additional tubing  140  may be inserted through the spacer passageway  172  and through the wax ring cavity  182  so that one end of the additional tubing  140  is in communication with the sewer line  20  ( FIG. 3   b ). The toilet may then be positioned upon the spacer  170  and connected to the wax ring  180  in a traditional manner. The caulk or trim may then be used to seal the toilet  10  to the floor surface, covering the gap between the toilet  10  and the floor surface caused by the spacer  170 . The toilet seat  110  may be attached to the toilet  10  in a traditional manner, and the pump  120  may be positioned as desired. The pump  120  is preferably attached to the rear surface  12   b  of the tank  12 . The tubing  130  may then be connected to the toilet seat air outlet  117  and to the air pump inlet port  122  ( FIG. 1 ), and the additional tubing  140  may be connected to the air pump outlet port  124  ( FIG. 3   b ). The tubing  130  and the additional tubing  140  may be secured to the toilet  10  by the clips  160  ( FIG. 1 ). 
   When a sufficient amount of pressure is exerted upon the toilet seat  110 , the sensor  152  actuates the air pump  120 , which draws air from the toilet seat air inlets  115  to the air pump inlet port  122  and then pushes the air from the air pump outlet port  124  to the sewer line  20  through the additional tubing  140 . The pump  120  may continue to operate for a predetermined amount of time after the pressure is removed from the toilet seat, depending on the switch  150  or the pump  120  as described above, in order to fully exhaust the odorous air. The check valve  128  prevents the backflow of sewer gases through the system  100  when the pump  120  is not operating. 
   In another embodiment shown in  FIGS. 5   a  and  5   b , the toilet  10  has a siphon tube  18  and an exterior surface  10   a  and defines an exhaust port  16  extending from the siphon tube  18  to the exterior surface  10   a . The additional tubing  140  is operatively connected to the pump outlet port  124  and operatively connected to the siphon tube  18 . Preferably, the additional tubing  140  extends from the pump outlet port  124  through the toilet exhaust port  16  and to the toilet siphon tube  18 . In this embodiment, the check valve  128  is preferably positioned in the additional tubing  140  between the pump outlet port  124  and the toilet siphon tube  18 . The exhaust port  16  may be built into the toilet  10  or may be drilled into an existing toilet  10  that was not manufactured with an exhaust port  16 . 
   In use, the toilet seat  110  may be attached to the toilet  10  in a traditional manner, and the pump  120  may be positioned as desired. The tubing  130  may then be connected to the toilet seat air outlet  117  and to the air pump inlet port  122 , and the additional tubing  140  may be connected to the air pump outlet port  124  and operatively connected to the siphon tube  18 . The system  100  may then operate as described above. 
   It is understood that while certain forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, it is not limited thereto except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims and allowable functional equivalents thereof.