Odorless toilet

A toilet is provided which transports malodorous air from the bowl to the sewer line. The tank of the toilet is equipped with a fan which draws air from the bowl through the flush holes, located in the rim of the bowl, into a sealed fan box. An intake tube is used to channel air from the water inlet to the fan box, which leaves the overflow tube unobstructed. Air is diverted out of the fan box through an exit tube which attaches to the siphon at a point behind the water trap. A damper door disposed between the exit tube and intake tube prevents stale air from the siphon or sewer from entering the bowl or tank and escaping.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1illustrates the parts and function of a toilet of the prior art. Toilet10includes tank20and bowl12. Tank20further includes overflow tube22, and flapper24. The normal water level in the tank is also indicated (W2). Bowl12further includes flush holes16disposed in rim14. Siphon18is disposed at the rear of bowl12. Water from bowl12enters siphon18and establishes a water trap which prevents gas from the sewer line from entering bowl12. The water level within the bowl is indicated (W1).

Water inlet15is disposed between tank20and bowl12and provides fluid communication there between. Specifically, when the toilet is flushed by depressing the flush handle (not shown), flapper24is raised and water from tank20enters water inlet15. From water inlet15, a volume of water travels through rim14and enters bowl12through flush holes16. The bulk of the water enters bowl12through a large flush hole16anear the rear rim16.

The large volume of water entering bowl12from tank20enters quickly and fills siphon18. Once siphon18is filled, suction pulls the water out of bowl12and down the sewer pipe (not shown). Once bowl12empties, air enters siphon18(which produces the distinctive gurgling sound) which stops the siphoning process. Flapper24then closes and tank20is refilled with water. The flow of water from tank20into bowl12is shown inFIG. 1by solid arrows.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The invention includes an odorless toilet which transports malodorous air from the bowl to the sewer line. The tank of the toilet is equipped with a fan which draws air from the bowl through the flush holes, located in the rim of the bowl, into a sealed fan box. An intake tube is used to channel air from the water inlet to the fan box, which leaves the overflow tube unobstructed. Air is diverted out of the fan box through an exit tube which attaches to the siphon at a point behind the water trap. A damper door disposed between the exit tube and intake tube prevents stale air from the siphon or sewer from entering the bowl or tank and escaping.

The toilet is powered by a simple fan, such as a 12 v/DC fan connected to a power source. The load required to operate the fan is small and can be supplied by a battery to obviate the need for a hard-wired electrical connection. The fan is activated by a switch positioned to be activated when the flush handle is moved upward. The upward movement of the handle causes the flush arm to move downward and engage the switch. A switch plate engages the flush arm and holds in place, sustaining contact with the switch. When the flush handle is pressed downward, to flush the toilet, the flush arm is raised and loses contact with the switch to deactivate the fan.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now toFIG. 2, odorless toilet11includes many of the same elements as the prior art. For example, tank20has overflow tube22and flapper24. Bowl12has flush holes16and16adisposed in rim14; siphon18is disposed at the rear of bowl12. Water inlet15provides fluid communication between bowl12and tank20.

Odorless toilet11further includes intake tube32which connects to water inlet15, in a similar manner as overflow tube22. Intake tube32is sealed where it meets the bottom of tank20to prevent water from leaking into water inlet15and bowl12. Intake tube32is attached at its upper end to fan box30. Fan box30remains in fluid communication with bowl12through intake tube32, through water inlet15and flush holes16and16ain rim14. A fan (not shown inFIG. 2) in fan box30draws air from bowl12through flush holes16and16ain rim20, through water inlet15and into intake tube32. Air then enters fan box30from intake tube32. Airflow from bowl12to fan box30is indicated by solid arrows.

A preferred embodiment of odorless toilet11is shown inFIGS. 3 and 4(the overflow tube and flapper are omitted for ease of viewing inFIG. 3). Exit tube34is attached to fan box30and provides an egress for air drawn from bowl12. In the preferred embodiment ofFIG. 3, exit tube34is attached at its upper end to fan box30and to siphon18at its lower end. In this manner, air drawn from bowl12is transported to the sewer line at a point behind the water trap in siphon18. Exit tube34may have a portion (34a) which extends through tank20and attaches to siphon18externally. The flow of air from bowl12to fan box30is shown by solid arrows and the flow of air from fan box30to siphon18is shown by hashed arrows.

In one embodiment, fan box30is divided into air compartment42and fan compartment44by damper door48. Fan compartment44, as its name suggests, houses fan46. Fan46of the preferred embodiment is 12 V/DC fan connected to power source58and switch54(FIG. 6). However, any mechanism capable of providing a vacuum in fan box30sufficient to draw air from bowl12can be employed.

Air compartment42is in direct-fluid communication with intake tube32and fan compartment44is in fluid communication with air compartment42when fan46is activated. Damper door48is hingedly connected to fan box30thereby defining the compartments and preventing the flow of air from fan compartment44to air compartment42, although air is free to travel from air compartment42to fan compartment44. A biasing means (not shown), such as a common spring, forces damper door48closed when fan46is not activated. When fan46is activated, damper door48pivots and allows air to travel from air compartment42to fan compartment44and out exit tube34. When fan46is deactivated, the resulting back pressure causes damper door48to close and form a seal between siphon18and bowl12.

An alternate embodiment is shown inFIG. 5. Here, fan box30is not divided into separate compartments. By placing damper door48abetween exit tube34and fan box30, stale air rising from the sewer through siphon18is prevented from entering fan box30or the ambient air of tank20. A biasing means (not shown), such as a common spring, forces damper door48aclosed when fan46is not activated. The precise placement of damper door48and/or48ais not critical as long as it is placed along the path of travel between siphon18and bowl12through fan box30.

In another embodiment, shown inFIG. 6, the odorless toilet includes a switch adapted to activate the fan when the flush handle is moved upward. Flush handles of the prior art move, generally, from a first position downward to activate the flushing mechanism. Flush handle50of odorless toilet11is capable of upward movement from its resting position to a first position which completes an electrical circuit, thereby providing power (from source58) to fan46. When flush handle50is depressed to flush the toilet, the circuit is opened and fan46is deactivated.

For example, as shown inFIG. 6, flush handle50is attached to flush arm52such that movement of flush handle50creates a corresponding movement of flush arm52. Flush arm52is connected to flapper24by a chain, as with toilets of the prior art. The distal end of flush arm52moves upward when flush handle50is pressed downward. The distal end of flush arm52moves downward, however, and engages switch54when flush handle50is moved upward.

Switch54can be any device capable of closing an electrical circuit. For example, switch54may be a plunger type switch, whereby the downward movement of flush arm52compresses a plunger that is slidably disposed within a sleeve having a spring which upwardly biases the plunger when flush arm50is in the resting position. A contact bar is pivotally fastened within a housing and is pivoted against a micro-switch by the downward force of the plunger. The micro-switch closes the circuit and activates the fan. Switches capable of closing the circuit in a similar manner are well known within the art.

Odorless toilet11can further be equipped with switch plate which has a protrusion adapted to releaseably engage flush arm52when flush handle50is raised. This ensures the circuit remains completed and power is supplied to the fan until flush handle50is depressed.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall there between. Now that the invention has been described,