Patent Publication Number: US-2009229045-A1

Title: Toilet seat ventilation system

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims domestic priority based upon U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/068,954, filed Mar. 11, 2008. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention disclosed herein relates to toilets in general and more specifically to ventilation of the toilet area. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Ventilation of the area surrounding the toilet is well known in the art. By way of example, most building codes require a ventilation exhaust fan or other means to remove the unpleasant odors surrounding the toilet by removing the entire air generally of the room. The inefficiency of vacating the air of the entire room instead of preventing the unpleasant odors from disseminating generally is easily appreciated. 
     Other systems exist that attempt to eliminate the unpleasant odors by collecting nearer the source of the unpleasant odors by collecting air near the toilet have been tried. They have been commercially unsuccessful because of the difficulty in collecting the air while necessarily avoiding the collection of water. 
     Yet another problem associated with the commercial failures to collect odors near the toilet seat is the difficulty to clean the toilet and seat area because the cumbersome nature of the venting system associated with the venting toilet seat. The existing art fails to provide a means to easily be removed to facilitate cleaning. 
     The present invention provides a novel toilet ventilation system that also provides a means to easily remove the toilet seat to allow improved and an easier cleaning of the area. The system includes a manifold which is attached to the toilet seat using one or more clips on each side of the manifold that engage catches on the toilet seat. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a toilet ventilation system. The ventilation system includes a manifold which engages the toilet seat. The toilet seat is located in typical fashion immediate to and above the toilet bowl. The manifold communicates to a point of exhaust, typically to the exterior. The manifold incorporates several features including a means for quick connection to the toilet seat and a means that allows adjustment to facilitate installation on various sized toilet bowls. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is the right side view of the toilet seat ventilation system; 
         FIG. 2  is a right side elevation of a cutaway view of the toilet seat on the toilet bowl; 
         FIG. 3  is a lower left side view of the manifold; 
         FIG. 4  is a left side elevation of the manifold with the sleeves slidably engaged in the manifold; 
         FIG. 5  is a lower left view of a sleeve; 
         FIG. 6  is a side view of a sleeve; and 
         FIG. 7  is a side elevation of a sleeve. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to the drawings, the invention is a toilet ventilation system  10 .  FIG. 1  (the left and right side views are mirror images unless otherwise noted). The toilet ventilation system includes a toilet  12 , toilet seat  14  with at least one inlet duct  16 , a manifold  18  with a means to removably connect to the toilet seat  FIG. 4 ,  20 , the manifold communicates with an exhaust port  22  which allows collected gases and odors to be ventilated to the exterior by means of a pipe  24 , the pipe includes an inline exhaust fan  26  that creates a pressure differential to draw the gases collected by the toilet and expel them through the exhaust port, the exhaust fan which is switchably  28  operated. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , the toilet seat  14  includes one of more inlet ducts  16  and defines a void  30  in the seat to allow gases to flow through the seat. The manifold, shown in  FIG. 3  defines a passage way  32  that latches to the toilet seat via snap latches  FIG. 4   20 . The passage way in the manifold begins as a single opening  34  at the connection to the toilet seat and divides the airflow to two branches  36  that exit at the manifold exit ports  38 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3-7 , the branches of the manifold  36  include sleeves  40  that slidably engage the manifold. The sleeves slidable connection allows the manifold to adjust in width to accommodate different size toilet bowls  12 . Referring to  FIG. 7 , the sleeves incorporate a fluid flow prevention wall  42 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the manifold exit ports of the manifold are connected to two pipes  44  (the mirror imagine is not shown). The two pipes are joined together into a single pipe  24  by a T connection  46  that is commonly known in the art. The single pipe communicates to an exhaust port  22  located on the exterior of the building. The single pipe includes an inline ventilation fan  26  which creates a pressure differential that urges the gas collected at the toilet seat  14  to the exhaust port. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4 , the manifold includes a snap latch  20  located on each side which allows the quick and easy disconnection from the toilet seat. This feature is an improvement over the prior art because it allows more convenient access to allow cleaning of the toilet and seat area. 
     The preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, but it is merely illustrative of the principles of the invention. Persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other embodiments and modifications may be made without deviating from the scope of the disclosed invention.