U.S. patent application number 10/745504 was filed with the patent office on 2005-06-30 for toilet ventilation systems and methods.
Invention is credited to Shim, Youngtack.
Application Number | 20050138720 10/745504 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34829518 |
Filed Date | 2005-06-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050138720 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Shim, Youngtack |
June 30, 2005 |
Toilet ventilation systems and methods
Abstract
The present invention generally relates to a ventilation system
for a toilet to discharge odorous air from a toilet cavity of the
toilet through an exit before the odorous air escapes from the
toilet cavity. More particularly, the present invention relates to
a toilet ventilation system for collecting the odorous air from the
toilet cavity, transporting such through air pathways thereof, and
discharging such to the exit. The present invention also relates to
a toilet ventilation system for collecting the odorous air from the
toilet cavity, removing at least a portion of odorous substances
contained therein, and returning or recirculating a substantially
odor-free air into a space in which the toilet is placed. Such a
ventilation system of the present invention may be incorporated
into various toilets in various embodiments such that, e.g., at
least a portion or an entire portion of such a ventilation system
may be embedded into the toilet or its parts, movably coupled to
the toilet or its parts, detachably coupled to the toilets or its
parts, or fixedly coupled to the toilet or its parts. Accordingly,
the ventilation system of the present invention may be incorporated
into a new toilet during its manufacture and/or may be arranged to
be retrofit into an existing toilet. In addition, the toilet
ventilation system of this invention may be arranged to ventilate a
single toilet or to ventilate multiple toilets.
Inventors: |
Shim, Youngtack; (Port
Moody, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Youngtack Shim
155 Aspenwood Drive
Port Moody
BC
V3H 5A5
CA
|
Family ID: |
34829518 |
Appl. No.: |
10/745504 |
Filed: |
December 29, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
4/213 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47K 13/307 20130101;
E03D 9/052 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
004/213 |
International
Class: |
E03D 009/04 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A ventilation system for a toilet including at least one
stationary part and at least on movable part, wherein said
stationary part includes at least one of a toilet base and a water
reservoir, wherein said movable part includes at least one of a
toilet seat and a toilet lid and is configured to be movably
coupled to at least a portion of said stationary part, wherein said
toilet base is configured to define a toilet cavity therein,
wherein said toilet seat is movably disposed over said toilet base
and configured to define a center aperture therein, and wherein
said ventilation system is configured to transport air from said
toilet cavity to an exit, said ventilation system comprising: at
least one airway member including at least one inlet unit and at
least one outlet unit, wherein said inlet unit is configured to
have at least one inlet opening which is in fluid communication
with said toilet cavity and wherein said outlet unit is configured
to define at least one outlet opening which is in fluid
communication with said exit; and at least one coupling member
disposed between said inlet and outlet units and configured to move
between at least one on-position and at least one off-position,
wherein said coupling member is configured to form a fluid
communication between said inlet and outlet units in said
on-position and to disrupt at least a portion of said fluid
communication therebetween in said off-position.
2. The ventilation system of claim 1 further comprising a one pump
member operatively coupled to at least one of said airway and
coupling members and configured to pump air through said airway and
coupling members.
3. The ventilation system of claim 1 wherein at least one portion
of said airway member is one of embedded into, movably coupled to,
fixedly coupled to, and detachably coupled to said toilet seat and
wherein at least another portion of said airway member is one of
embedded into, movably coupled to, fixedly coupled to, and
detachably coupled to at least one of said toilet lid, said toilet
base, and said water reservoir.
4. The ventilation system of claim 1, wherein said coupling member
is configured to move from one of said on- and off-positions to the
other thereof in response to movements of at least one of said
toilet seat and toilet lid.
5. The ventilation system of claim 4, wherein said toilet seat is
configured to move between a flat seat position and a non-flat seat
position, wherein said toilet lid is configured to move between a
flat lid position and a non-flat lid position, and wherein said
coupling member configured to be in said. on-position when said
toilet seat is in said flat seat position and said toilet lid is in
said non-flat lid position
6. The ventilation system of claim 5, wherein said coupling member
is configured to include a first coupler unit and a second coupler
unit each of which is configured to define a first air pathway and
a second air pathway therein, respectively, and wherein at least
one of said coupler units is configured to move toward and away
from the other of said coupler units along a preset path, thereby
providing a fluid communication between said coupler units in said
on-position and to disrupt at least a portion of said fluid
communication in said off-position.
7. The ventilation system of claim 6, wherein said first coupler
unit is configured to be movably disposed inside said second
coupler unit so as to form a fluid communication therebetween in
said on-position and to be detached therefrom so as to disrupt at
least a portion of said fluid communication in said
off-position.
8. The ventilation system of claim 5, wherein said coupling member
is configured to include a first coupler unit and a second coupler
unit configured to respectively define a first opening and a second
opening thereon and wherein one of said first and second coupler
units is configured to be disposed onto the other thereof in order
to provide a fluid communication in said on-position by aligning
said first and second openings and to disrupt at least a portion of
said fluid communication in said off-position by misaligning said
first and second openings.
9. The ventilation system of claim 8, wherein said first and second
coupler units have thereon a first arcuate surface and a second
arcuate surface, respectively, and wherein said arcuate surfaces
include said openings thereon and are configured to allow angular
rotation of one of said coupler units with respect to the other
thereof.
10. The ventilation system of claim 3, wherein said coupling member
is configured to move from one to the other of said on- and
off-positions in response to an angle formed between said toilet
seat and said toilet lid.
11. The ventilation system of claim 10, wherein said coupling
member is configured to be disposed in said on-position when said
angle is within a preset range and to be in said off-position when
said angle is outside said preset range.
12. The ventilation system of claim 1, wherein said airway member
includes at least one air guide unit configured to introduce air
thereto from said toilet cavity.
13. The ventilation system of claim 1 further comprising at least
one filter member disposed along at least one of said airway and
coupling members and capable of removing odorous substance from air
flowing therethrough.
14. The ventilation system of claim 1 further comprising at least
one d hydration member disposed along at least one of said airway
and coupling members and capable of reducing humidity of air which
flows therethrough.
15. The ventilation system of claim 1 further comprising at least
one air treatment member which is configured to be in fluid
communication with at least one of said airway and coupling
members, to store fragrant substance therein, and to release said
fragrant substance into air flowing therethrough.
16. The ventilation system of claim 1 further comprising a sound
member which is configured to store at least one prerecorded sound
and capable of playing said sound.
17. A ventilation system for a toilet including at least one
stationary part and at least one movable part, wherein said
stationary part includes at least one of a toilet base and a water
reservoir, wherein said movable part includes at least one of a
toilet seat and a toilet lid and is configured to be movably
coupled to at least a portion of said stationary part, wherein said
toilet base is configured to define a toilet cavity therein,
wherein said toilet seat is movably disposed over said toilet base
and configured to define a center aperture therein, and wherein
said ventilation system is configured to transport air from said
toilet cavity to an exit, said ventilation system configured to
minimize a resistance to air flow therealong and comprising: at
least one airway member including at least one inlet unit and at
least one outlet unit, wherein said inlet unit is configured to
have at least one inlet opening which is in fluid communication
with said toilet cavity and wherein said outlet unit is configured
to define at least one outlet opening which is in fluid
communication with said exit; and at least one pump member
configured to be operatively coupled to said airway member and to
pump air inside said toilet cavity from said inlet opening to said
exit, wherein said airway and pump members are at least one of
embedded into, movably coupled to, detachably coupled to, and
fixedly coupled to at least one of said stationary and movable
parts of said toilet and wherein different parts of said airway
member excluding said inlet and outlet openings are configured to
have similar cross-sectional areas therealong in order to minimize
at least one of an expansion and a contraction of said
cross-sectional areas, to minimize pressure losses thereby, and to
minimize said resistance to air flow thereby.
18. A method of transporting odorous air from a toilet by
incorporating a ventilation system to said toilet including at
least one stationary part and at least one movable part, wherein
said stationary part has at least one of a toilet base and a water
reservoir, wherein said movable part has at least one of a toilet
seat and a toilet lid and is movably coupled to at least a portion
of said stationary part, wherein said toilet base is configured to
define a toilet cavity therein, and wherein said toilet seat is
configured to be movably disposed over said toilet base, to move
between its flat position and a vertical position, and to define a
center aperture therein, said method comprising the steps of:
providing an airway member having a first air pathway and a second
air pathway; operatively coupling said airway member to a pump
member which is capable of transporting air through said first and
second air pathways of said airway member; incorporating said first
air pathway of said airway member into said toilet seat while
disposing one end of said first air pathway in fluid communication
with said toilet cavity; incorporating said second air pathway of
said airway member into said toilet lid while placing one end of
said second portion in fluid communication with an exit of said
odorous air; movably coupling said first and second air pathways of
said airway member; receiving an odorous substance giving off said
odorous air in said toilet cavity; starting said pump member,
thereby transporting said odorous air from said toilet cavity to
said exit through said first and second pathways of said airway
member; and terminating said pump member when said transporting is
completed.
19. The method of claim 18 said incorporating said first air
pathway comprising the steps of: embedding said first air pathway
of said airway member into said toilet seat; fixedly coupling said
first air pathway of said airway member to said toilet seat;
movably coupling said first air pathway of said airway member to
said toilet seat; and detachably coupling said first air pathway of
said airway member to said toilet seat.
20. The method of claim 18 said incorporating said second air
pathway comprising the steps of: embedding said second air pathway
of said airway member into said toilet lid; fixedly coupling said
second air pathway of said airway member to said toilet lid;
movably coupling said second air pathway of said airway member to
said toilet lid; and detachably coupling said second air pathway of
said airway member to said toilet lid.
Description
[0001] The present application claims a benefit of a Disclosure
Document No. 503,107, entitled "Toilet Ventilation System" and
filed on Jan. 3, 2002, an entire portion of which is incorporated
herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention generally relates to a ventilation
system for a toilet to discharge odorous air from a toilet cavity
of the toilet through an exit before the odorous air escapes from
the toilet cavity. More particularly, the present invention relates
to a toilet ventilation system for collecting the odorous air from
the toilet cavity, transporting such through air pathways thereof,
and discharging such to the exit. The present invention also
relates to a toilet ventilation system for collecting the odorous
air from the toilet cavity, removing at least a portion of odorous
substances contained therein, and returning or recirculating a
substantially odor-free air into a space in which the toilet is
placed.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Conventional toilets are manufactured by assembling various
movable toilet parts with various stationary toilet parts.
Exemplary stationary toilet parts include a toilet base and a water
reservoir and exemplary movable toilet parts include a toilet seat
and toilet lid. The toilet base generally forms a toilet cavity
which is filled with water, collects human wastes giving off
odorous air, and flushes them with additional water supplied by the
water reservoir or by an external water source.
[0004] Conventional toilets are typically located in small enclosed
bathrooms which are susceptible to be easily filled with odorous
air each time the toilets are used. Various human wastes collected
in the toilet cavity include substances giving off odorous air
which may escape therefrom to contaminate the bathroom air. Various
ventilation fans are positioned in the ceiling of the bathrooms
above the toilet to draw off the odorous air from the bathrooms.
However, the ceiling ventilation fans are not particularly
effective primarily because they are not located close enough to a
source of the odorous air, i.e., the toilet cavity. Accordingly, it
usually takes a substantial amount of time, if at all, to remove
the odorous air from the bathroom.
[0005] Various forced ventilation systems have been proposed so as
to remove the odorous air from the toilet cavity before it escapes
therefrom into atmosphere. However, these prior art systems have
not yet found commercial use due to a few major defects. First of
all, the prior art systems generally include at least a few
components which must be installed not on the toilet but at
distances therefrom. Such components generally make the bathroom
crowded, diminish aesthetics of the toilet, and turn a cleaning of
the toilet into a difficult task. More importantly, most prior art
systems employ air tubing for connecting an air inlet disposed at
the toilet seat to an air pump. Because of the space concern, such
air tubing is typically made to be flexible and to have a smaller
dimension than other components of the ventilation system, thereby
incurring substantial hydraulic resistance therethrough. Increasing
such a dimension of the air tubing in these ventilation systems is
generally not a practical option because the thicker air tubing
would require more installation space. Due to such substantial
hydraulic resistance, conventional ventilation system generally
requires high-capacity pumps capable of creating pressure gradients
enough to take in the odorous air from the toilet cavity after a
substantial loss of mechanical energy through viscous dissipation.
Such high-capacity pumps not only consume more electricity but also
generate noise enough to bother bathroom users.
[0006] Accordingly, there is a need for a ventilation system
capable of discharging air from the toilet cavity while effectively
removing the odorous air from the toilet cavity before the odorous
air escapes out of the toilet cavity and contaminates the
atmosphere surrounding the toilet.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The present invention generally relates to a ventilation
system for a toilet to discharge odorous air from a toilet cavity
of the toilet through an exit before the odorous air escapes from
the toilet cavity. More particularly, the present invention relates
to a toilet ventilation system for collecting the odorous air from
the toilet cavity, transporting such through air pathways thereof,
and discharging such to the exit. The present invention also
relates to a toilet ventilation system for collecting the odorous
air from the toilet cavity, removing at least a portion of odorous
substances contained therein, and returning or recirculating a
substantially odor-free air into a space in which the toilet is
placed. Such a ventilation system of the present invention may be
incorporated into various toilets in various embodiments such that,
e.g., at least a portion or an entire portion of such a ventilation
system may be embedded into the toilet or its parts, movably
coupled to the toilet or its parts, detachably coupled to the
toilets or its parts, or fixedly coupled to the toilet or its
parts. Accordingly, the ventilation system of the present invention
may be incorporated into a new toilet during its manufacture and/or
may be arranged to be retrofit into an existing toilet. In
addition, the toilet ventilation system of this invention may be
arranged to ventilate a single toilet or to ventilate multiple
toilets. The present invention further relates to various methods
of making such toilet ventilation systems and utilizing such
systems for removing the odorous air from the toilet cavity and/or
for removing the odorous substances therefrom. In addition, the
present invention relates to various processes of making such
toilet ventilation systems.
[0008] In one aspect of the present invention, a ventilation system
is provided for a toilet which has at least one stationary part and
at least one movable part, where the stationary part may include a
toilet base and/or a water reservoir, while the movable part may
include at least one of a toilet seat and/or a toilet lid and be
arranged to be movably coupled to at least a portion of the
stationary part. The toilet base is arranged to define a toilet
cavity therein, and the toilet seat is movably disposed over the
toilet base and arranged to define a center aperture therein. The
ventilation system is arranged to pump air from the toilet cavity
to an exit for odorous air in the toilet cavity and may include at
least one airway member and at least one pump member. The airway
member includes at least one inlet unit as well as at least one
outlet unit, where the inlet unit is arranged to define at least
one inlet opening which is in fluid communication with the toilet
cavity, while the outlet unit is arranged to define at least one
outlet opening which is in fluid communication with the exit. The
pump member is arranged to be operatively coupled to the airway
member and to pump air inside the toilet cavity from the inlet
opening to the exit. In one exemplary embodiment, the airway and
pump members are embedded into, movably coupled to, detachably
coupled to, and/or fixedly coupled to at least on of such
stationary parts of the toilet. In another exemplary embodiment,
the airway and pump members are embedded into, movably coupled to,
detachably coupled to, and/or fixedly coupled to at least one of
such movable parts of the toilet. In another exemplary embodiment,
the airway and pump members are embedded into, movably coupled to,
detachably coupled to, and/or fixedly coupled to the toilet seat
and arranged to move therewith. In another exemplary embodiment,
the airway and pump members are embedded into, movably coupled to,
detachably coupled to, and/or fixedly coupled to the toilet lid and
arranged to move therewith. In another exemplary embodiment, at
least one portion of the airway member is embedded into, movably
coupled to, detachably coupled to, and/or fixedly coupled to the
toilet seat, and at least another portion of the airway member is
embedded into, movably coupled to, fixedly coupled to, and/or
detachably coupled to the toilet lid, toilet base, and/or water
reservoir. In this embodiment, the pump member may be embedded
into, fixedly coupled to, movably coupled to, and detachably
coupled to at least one of the movable and/or stationary parts of
the toilet. In another exemplary embodiment, the inlet unit of the
airway member is embedded into, fixedly coupled to, detachably
coupled to, and/or movably coupled to the toilet seat, while the
outlet unit thereof is embedded into, fixedly coupled to,
detachably coupled to, and/or movably coupled to the toilet lid,
toilet base, and/or water reservoir. In this embodiment, the pump
member is embedded into, fixedly coupled to, movably coupled to,
and/or detachably coupled to at least one of the movable and/or
stationary parts of the toilet.
[0009] Embodiments of this aspect of the invention may include one
or more of the following features.
[0010] The inlet and outlet openings may be arranged to be in fluid
communication when the toilet seat and/or lid is disposed in a
preset range of positions and arranged not to be in the fluid
communication when the toilet seat and/or lid is not disposed in
the preset range of the positions. The inlet and outlet openings
may also be arranged to be in fluid communication when the toilet
seat and lid (or toilet seat and base) are disposed to form a
preset range of angles therebetween and then not to be in the fluid
communication when the toilet seat and lid (or toilet seat and
base) are not placed in the preset range of the angles. The inlet
and outlet openings may be arranged to always form the fluid
communication.
[0011] The pump member may disposed on a movable article of a
bathroom or on a stationary article of the bathroom. The pump
member may be arranged to operatively couple with the airway member
and to begin and terminate its pumping operation according to,
e.g., an angle formed between the toilet lid and seat, an angle
formed between the toilet seat and base, and a relative position of
the toilet seat (or lid) with respect to the toilet lid (or seat),
toilet base, and water reservoir. The pump member may be arranged
to generate a negative pressure throughout the airway member.
Alternatively, the pump member may be arranged to generate a
negative pressure in one portion of the airway member and a
positive pressure in another portion of the airway member.
[0012] The inlet and outlet openings of the airway member may be in
fluid communication, e.g., when an angle formed between the toilet
lid and toilet seat is within a preset range, when an angle formed
between the toilet seat and toilet base is within another preset
range, and when a relative position of the toilet seat (or lid) to
the toilet lid (or seat), toilet base, and water reservoir falls
within yet another preset range. Similarly, the inlet and outlet
openings may not be in the fluid communication when such angles
and/or position may not fall within the above ranges. At least a
portion of the airway member may be arranged to be made of
deformable materials and to collapse in response to an external
force applied thereto to block at least a portion of air flow
therethrough. Alternatively, at least a portion of the airway
member may be arranged to be made of deformable materials and to
collapse and block at least a portion of air flow therethrough,
e.g., when an angle formed between the toilet seat and toilet lid
is within a preset range, when an angle formed between the toilet
seat and base is within another preset range, when a position of
the toilet seat (or lid) relative to the toilet lid (or seat),
toilet base, and water reservoir falls within yet another preset
range, and so on.
[0013] The ventilation system may include at least one coupling
member which is arranged to couple the inlet and outlet units of
the airway member and to provide and/or to disrupt a fluid
communication therebetween. The coupling member may include
multiple coupler units which are arranged to provide the fluid
communication between the inlet and outlet openings, e.g., when an
angle formed between the toilet lid and seat is within a preset
range, when another angle formed between the toilet seat and base
is within another preset range, when a position of the toilet seat
(or lid) with respect to the toilet lid (or seat), toilet base, and
water reservoir falls within yet another preset range, and the
like. Such coupler units may be arranged to disrupt the fluid
communication between the inlet and outlet openings when such
angles and/or position may not fall within such ranges. The
ventilation system may further have various auxiliary members
incorporated into the toilet with the airway and/or coupling
members. A single pump member may be arranged to operatively couple
with more than two airway members each of which may be coupled to a
different toilet and to provide ventilation to more than two
toilets.
[0014] Different parts of the airway member excluding the inlet and
outlet openings may be arranged to have similar cross-sectional
areas. Different parts of the airway member excluding such inlet
and outlet openings may be arranged to have similar cross-sectional
shapes. Alternatively, different parts of the airway member except
the inlet and outlet openings may be arranged to have similar
hydraulic or pneumatic resistances to air flow therethrough.
Alternatively, different parts of the airway member excluding the
inlet and outlet openings may also be arranged to have resistances
to air flow less than a preset maximum value.
[0015] In another aspect of the present invention, a ventilation
system is provided for the toilet similar to the foregoing one and
includes at least one airway member and at least one pump member.
In one exemplary embodiment, the airway member may include at least
one inlet unit, at least one outlet unit, and at least one channel
unit. The inlet unit is arranged to define at least one inlet
opening which is in fluid communication with the toilet cavity,
while the outlet unit is arranged to define at least one outlet
opening which is in fluid communication with the exit. In addition,
the channel unit is arranged to be disposed between the inlet and
outlet units, to move between at least one on-position and at least
one off-position, and to provide a fluid communication between the
inlet and outlet units in the on-position and to disrupt at least a
portion of such a fluid communication in the off-position. The pump
member is arranged to be operatively coupled to the airway member
and to pump air inside the toilet cavity from the inlet opening to
the exit through the airway member. In another exemplary
embodiment, the airway member may include at least one inlet unit,
at least one outlet unit, and multiple channel units. The inlet
unit may define at least one inlet opening which is arranged to be
in fluid communication with the toilet cavity, while the outlet
unit may define at least one outlet opening in fluid communication
with the exit. The channel units are arranged to be movably
disposed between the inlet and outlet units and to form a varying
angle therebetween. In particular, the channel units provide a
fluid communication between the inlet and outlet units when the
angle is within a preset range of angles such as, e.g., between 60
and 180 degrees, 70 and 150 degrees, and 80 and 120 degrees, and
then to disrupt at least a portion of such a fluid communication
between the inlet and outlet units when the angle may not be within
the range. The pump member is arranged to be operatively coupled to
the airway member and to pump air inside the toilet cavity from the
inlet opening to the exit through the airway member.
[0016] Embodiments of this aspect of the invention may include one
or more of the following features.
[0017] The foregoing airway member may be embedded into, fixedly
coupled to, movably coupled to, and/or detachably coupled to a part
or multiple parts of the toilet such as, e.g., the toilet seat,
toilet lid, toilet base, and/or water reservoir. When desirable, at
least a portion of the airway member may also be similarly coupled
to a floor, a wall, and/or a fixture inside or outside of a
bathroom. Alternatively, a first portion of the airway member may
also be embedded into, fixedly coupled to, movably coupled to,
and/or detachably coupled to the toilet seat, whereas a second
portion of the airway member may be embedded into, fixedly coupled
to, movably coupled to, and/or detachably coupled to the toilet
lid. At least a portion of the airway member may be arranged to be
made of or include deformable materials and to collapse in response
to an external force applied thereto so as to block at least a
portion of air flow therethrough. Alternatively, at least a portion
of the airway member may be arranged to be made of or include
deformable materials and to collapse and block at least a portion
of air flow therethrough when an angle formed between the toilet
lid and seat is within a preset range, when an angle formed between
the toilet seat and base is within another preset range, when a
position of the toilet seat (or lid) with respect to the toilet lid
(or seat), toilet base, and water reservoir falls within a preset
range.
[0018] The pump member may also be embedded into, fixedly coupled
to, movably coupled to, and/or detachably coupled to a part or
multiple parts of the toilet such as, e.g., the toilet seat, the
toilet lid, the toilet base, and/or the water reservoir. When
desirable, at least a portion of the pump member may be similarly
coupled to a floor, a wall, and/or a fixture inside or outside of a
bathroom. The pump member may be arranged to operatively couple
with the airway member and to begin and terminate its pumping
operation according to, e.g., an angle formed between the toilet
lid and seat, an angle formed between the toilet seat and base,
and/or a position of the toilet seat with respect to the toilet
lid, toilet base, and water reservoir. The pump member may be
arranged to generate a negative pressure throughout an entire or at
least a substantial portion of the airway member. In the
alternative, the pump member may generate a negative pressure in
one portion of the airway member and a positive pressure in another
portion of the airway member.
[0019] The inlet and outlet units may be arranged to be in fluid
communication through the channel unit or units when the toilet
seat and/or lid may be disposed in a preset range of positions, and
not to be in such a fluid communication through the channel unit or
units when the toilet seat and/or lid may not be disposed in the
preset range of the positions. Alternatively, the inlet and outlet
units may be arranged to be in fluid communication through the
channel unit or units when the toilet seat and toilet lid, the
toilet seat and toilet base, and/or the toilet seat and toilet base
may be disposed to form a preset range of angles, and not to be in
the fluid communication through the channel unit or units when the
toilet seat and lid, toilet seat and base, and/or toilet seat and
base may not be disposed in the preset range of the angles.
[0020] The ventilation system may include at least one coupling
member which is arranged to couple the inlet unit with the channel
unit, the outlet unit with the channel unit, and/or two channel
units of the airway member and to provide and disrupt a fluid
communication therebetween. The inlet and outlet units may be
arranged to be in fluid communication through the coupling member,
e.g., when an angle formed between the toilet lid and seat is
within a preset range, when another angle formed between the toilet
seat and base is within another preset range, when a position of
the toilet seat (or lid) with respect to the toilet lid (or seat),
toilet base, and/or water reservoir falls within another preset
range, and the like. The inlet and outlet units may not be in the
fluid communication when such angles and/or position may not be
within the above ranges. The coupling member may include multiple
coupler units which are arranged to provide the fluid communication
between the inlet and outlet units, e.g., when an angle formed
between the toilet lid and seat is within a preset range, when
another angle formed between the toilet seat and base is within
another preset range, when a position of the toilet seat (or lid)
with respect to the toilet lid (or seat), toilet base, and water
reservoir is within yet another preset range, and the like. Such
coupler units may be arranged to disrupt the fluid communication
between the inlet and outlet units when such an angle and/or
position may not fall within such a range. The ventilation system
may also have various auxiliary members which is incorporated into
the toilet with the airway and/or coupling members. A single pump
member may be arranged to operatively couple with more than two
airway members each of which may be coupled to a different toilet
and to provide ventilation to more than two toilets.
[0021] Different parts of the airway member excluding the inlet and
outlet openings may be arranged to have similar cross-sectional
areas. Different parts of the airway member excluding such inlet
and outlet openings may be arranged to have similar cross-sectional
shapes. Alternatively, different parts of the airway member except
the inlet and outlet openings may be arranged to have similar
hydraulic or pneumatic resistances to air flow therethrough.
Alternatively, different parts of the airway member excluding the
inlet and outlet openings may also be arranged to have resistances
to air flow less than a preset maximum value.
[0022] In another aspect of the present invention, a ventilation
system is provided for a toilet including at least one stationary
part and at least one movable part, where the stationary part has a
toilet base and/or a water reservoir, while the movable part
includes a toilet seat and/or a toilet lid which may be arranged to
be movably coupled to at least a portion of the stationary part.
The toilet base is arranged to define a toilet cavity therein. The
toilet seat is movably disposed over the toilet base and arranged
to define a center aperture therein. The ventilation system is
arranged to transport air from the toilet cavity to an exit for
odorous air in the toilet cavity and arranged to minimize a
resistance to flow of air therealong. Such a ventilation system may
include at least one airway member and at least one pump member.
The airway member may include at least one inlet unit and at least
one outlet unit, where the inlet unit is arranged to have at least
one inlet opening in fluid communication with the toilet cavity and
where the outlet unit is arranged to define at least one outlet
opening in fluid communication with the exit. The pump member is
arranged to be operatively coupled to the airway member and to
transport or pump air inside the toilet cavity from the inlet
opening to the exit. In one exemplary embodiment, the airway and
pump members may be embedded into, movably coupled to, detachably
coupled to, and/or fixedly coupled to at least one of the
stationary and movable parts of the toilet. Different parts of such
an airway member excluding the inlet and outlet openings are
arranged to have similar cross-sectional areas therealong in order
to minimize expansions and/or contractions of the cross-sectional
areas, to minimize a pressure loss caused thereby, and to minimize
the resistance to air flow of such an airway member. In another
exemplary embodiment, the airway and/or pump members may be
embedded into, movably coupled to, detachably coupled to, and/or
fixedly coupled to at least one of the stationary and movable parts
of the toilet. Different parts of the airway member except the
inlet and outlet openings are arranged to have similar
cross-sectional shapes therealong so as to minimize expansions
and/or contractions of the cross-sectional shapes, to minimize a
pressure loss caused thereby and, thus, to minimize the resistance
to air flow along the airway member. In another exemplary
embodiment, the airway and/or pump member may also be embedded
into, movably coupled to, detachably coupled to, and/or fixedly
coupled to at least one of the stationary and movable parts of the
toilet. Different parts of the airway member excluding the inlet
and outlet openings may further be arranged to have similar
resistances to air flow therealong by manipulating, e.g., their
shapes, sizes, arrangements, and so on. In another exemplary
embodiment, the airway and/or pump members may be embedded into,
movably coupled to, detachably coupled to, and/or fixedly coupled
to at least one of the stationary and movable parts of the toilet.
Different parts of the airway member excluding the inlet and outlet
openings may be arranged to have resistances to air flow therealong
less than a preset maximum value which may be determined as, e.g.,
the resistance consuming a preset percentage of mechanical energy
generated by the pump member operating at a preset level, capacity
or rpm.
[0023] Embodiments of this aspect of the invention may include one
or more of the following features.
[0024] The inlet and outlet openings may be arranged to be in fluid
communication when the toilet seat and/or lid is disposed in a
preset range of positions and arranged not to be in the fluid
communication when the toilet seat and/or lid is not disposed in
the preset range of the positions. The inlet and outlet openings
may also be arranged to be in fluid communication when the toilet
seat and lid (or toilet seat and base) are disposed to form a
preset range of angles therebetween, when a position of the toilet
seat (or lid) with respect to the toilet lid (or seat), toilet
base, and/or water reservoir fall within another preset range, and
the like. The inlet and outlet openings may not to be in the fluid
communication when the toilet seat and lid (or toilet seat and
base) may not be disposed in the preset range of the angles. The
inlet and outlet openings may be arranged to always form the fluid
communication.
[0025] The foregoing airway member may be embedded into, fixedly
coupled to, movably coupled to, and/or detachably coupled to a part
or multiple parts of the toilet such as, e.g., the toilet seat,
toilet lid, toilet base, and/or water reservoir. When desirable, at
least a portion of the airway member may also be similarly coupled
to a floor, a wall, and/or a fixture inside or outside of a
bathroom. Alternatively, a first portion of the airway member may
also be embedded into, fixedly coupled to, movably coupled to,
and/or detachably coupled to the toilet seat, whereas a second
portion of the airway member may be embedded into, fixedly coupled
to, movably coupled to, and/or detachably coupled to the toilet
lid. At least a portion of the airway member may be arranged to be
made of or include deformable materials and to collapse in response
to an external force applied thereto so as to block at least a
portion of air flow therethrough. Alternatively, at least a portion
of the airway member may be arranged to be made of or include
deformable materials and to collapse and block at least a portion
of air flow therethrough when an angle formed between the toilet
lid and seat is within a preset range, when an angle formed between
the toilet seat and base is within another preset range, when a
position of the toilet seat (or lid) with respect to the toilet lid
(or seat), toilet base, and water reservoir falls within a preset
range.
[0026] The pump member may also be embedded into, fixedly coupled
to, movably coupled to, and/or detachably coupled to a part or
multiple parts of the toilet such as, e.g., the toilet seat, the
toilet lid, the toilet base, and/or the water reservoir. When
desirable, at least a portion of the pump member may be similarly
coupled to a floor, a wall, and/or a fixture inside or outside of a
bathroom. The pump member may be arranged to operatively couple
with the airway member and to begin and terminate its pumping
operation according to, e.g., an angle formed between the toilet
lid and seat, an angle formed between the toilet seat and base,
and/or a position of the toilet seat with respect to the toilet
lid, toilet base, and water reservoir. The pump member may be
arranged to generate a negative pressure throughout an entire or at
least a substantial portion of the airway member. In the
alternative, the pump member may generate a negative pressure in
one portion of the airway member and a positive pressure in another
portion of the airway member.
[0027] The ventilation system may include at least one coupling
member which is arranged to couple the inlet unit and the outlet
unit of the airway member and to provide and disrupt a fluid
communication therebetween. The inlet and outlet units may be
arranged to be in fluid communication through such a coupling
member, e.g., when an angle formed between the toilet lid and seat
is within a preset range, when another angle formed between the
toilet seat and base is within another preset range, when a
position of the toilet seat (or lid) relative to the toilet lid (or
seat), toilet base, and/or water reservoir is within a preset
range, and the like. The inlet and outlet units may not be in such
a fluid communication when such angles and/or position may not be
within the above ranges. Such a coupling member may include
multiple coupler units which are arranged to provide the fluid
communication between the inlet and outlet units and/or openings,
e.g., when an angle formed between the toilet lid and seat is
within a preset range, when another angle formed between the toilet
seat and base is within another preset range, when a position of
the toilet seat (or lid) with respect to the toilet lid (or seat),
toilet base, and water reservoir is within yet another preset
range, and the like. Such coupler units may be arranged to disrupt
the fluid communication between the inlet and outlet units and/or
openings when the angle and/or position may not fall within such a
range. The ventilation system may include various auxiliary members
which is incorporated into the toilet with the airway and/or
coupling members. In addition, a single pump member may be arranged
to be operatively coupled to more than two airway members each of
which may be coupled to a different toilet and to provide
ventilation to more than two toilets.
[0028] In another aspect of the present invention, a ventilation
system is provided for a toilet including at least one stationary
part and at least one movable part, where the stationary part has a
toilet base and/or a water reservoir, while the movable part
includes a toilet seat and/or a toilet lid which may be arranged to
be movably coupled to at least a portion of the stationary part.
The toilet base is arranged to define a toilet cavity arranged to
receive a substance giving off odorous air, whereas the toilet seat
may be movably disposed over the toilet base and arranged to define
a center aperture therein. Such a ventilation system is arranged to
transport air from the toilet cavity to an exit for such an odorous
air inside the toilet cavity and may include at least one airway
member, at least one coupling member, and at least one pump member.
The airway member includes at least one inlet unit and at least one
outlet unit, where the inlet unit is arranged to have at least one
inlet opening which is in fluid communication with the toilet
cavity and where the outlet unit is arranged to define at least one
outlet opening which is in fluid communication with the exit. The
coupling member is disposed between the inlet and outlet units and
arranged to move between at least one on-position and at least one
off-position, where the coupling member is arranged to form a fluid
communication between the inlet and outlet units in the on-position
and to disrupt at least a portion of the fluid communication
therebetween in the off-position.
[0029] Embodiments of this aspect of the invention may include one
or more of the following features.
[0030] At least a portion of the airway member may be arranged to
be embedded into, fixedly coupled to, movably coupled to, and/or
detachably coupled to one or more of the foregoing toilet parts
such as the toilet seat, toilet lid, toilet base, water reservoir,
and so on. Different parts of the airway member except the inlet
and outlet openings may be arranged to have similar cross-sectional
areas, e.g., not different by more than 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%,
30%, 35%, 40%, 45%, 50%, and the like. Different parts of the
airway member excluding such inlet and outlet openings may be
arranged to have similar cross-sectional shapes, e.g., having
aspect ratios ranging from 0.3 to 1.0, 0.5 to 1.0, from 0.7 to 1.0,
from 0.9 to 1.1, from 1.0 to 1.5, 1.0 to 3.0, and so on. Typical
examples of such shapes may be, e.g., rectangular, oval, circular,
and the like. In the alternative, different parts of the airway
member except the inlet and outlet openings may be arranged to have
similar hydraulic or pneumatic resistances to air flow
therethrough. In another alternative, different parts of the airway
member excluding the inlet and outlet openings may be arranged to
have resistances to air flow less than a preset maximum value as
described above.
[0031] The pump member may be operatively coupled to the airway
and/or coupling members to pump air through the airway and coupling
members. The pump member is generally arranged to transport or pump
air from the inlet unit to the outlet unit when the coupling member
is moved to or disposed in the on-position. The pump member may b
arranged to be detachably disposed along the airway and/or coupling
members. The ventilation system may include a conventional dry-cell
or rechargeable battery arranged to supply electricity to the pump
member. Such a system may include a locking unit arranged to
detachably couple and lock the inlet and outlet units thereto. The
locking unit has a locking position and an unlocking position and
respectively disposed in the locking and unlocking positions when
the airway and/or coupling members may be disposed in the on- and
off-positions.
[0032] The coupling member may be arranged to move from one to the
other of or disposed in the on- and off-positions in response to
movement of the toilet seat and/or lid. The toilet seat may have a
flat seat position and a non-flat seat position and the toilet lid
may have a flat lid position and a non-flat lid position. The
coupling member may be in the on-position when the toilet seat is
in its flat seat position and/or the toilet lid is in its non-flat
lid position. The coupling member may be in its off-position when
the toilet seat is in its non-flat seat position or when the toilet
lid is in its flat lid position. The coupling member may include a
first coupler unit and a second coupler unit defining a first air
pathway and a second air pathway therein, respectively. At least
one of the first and second coupler units may be arranged to move
toward the other of the coupler units to form a fluid communication
therebetween in the on-position and to move away from the other
thereof in order to disrupt at least a portion of such a fluid
communication in the off-position. At least one of the foregoing
coupler units may be arranged to move along at least one of an
arcuate and linear path. In the alternative, one of the first and
second coupler units may be arranged to be movably disposed in the
other of the coupler units so as to form the fluid communication in
the on-position and to be detached from the other thereof to
disrupt at least a portion of such a fluid communication in the
off-position. The first and second coupler units may be arranged to
move along an arcuate path or along two different arcuate paths. In
another exemplary embodiment, the coupling member may include a
first coupler unit and a second coupler unit defining at least one
first opening and at least one second opening thereon,
respectively, where one of the first and second coupler units may
be arranged to be movably disposed over the other thereof to align
the first and second openings and to form a fluid communication
therebetween in the on-position and then to misalign the first and
second openings to disrupt at least a portion of such a fluid
communication in the off-position. Such a first coupler unit may
define thereon a first arcuate surface defining at least one first
opening, such a second couplet unit may define thereon a second
arcuate surface defining at least one second opening, and one of
the first and second coupler units may be arranged to rotate with
respect to the other thereof along their arcuate surfaces. The
first and second arcuate surfaces may be arranged to form at least
portions of substantially a curved surface of a cylinder or a
sphere. Alternatively, the first and second arcuate surfaces may be
arranged to have a substantially identical center axis and a radius
of a cylinder, and one of the first and second coupler units may be
arranged to rotate with respect to the other coupler unit about the
center axis. In another alternative, the first and second arcuate
surfaces may be arranged to have a substantially identical center
and a radius of a sphere, and one of the first and second coupler
units may be arranged to rotate with respect to the other coupler
unit about the center. In the above exemplary embodiments, one of
the first and second coupler units may be arranged to be disposed
inside the other thereof in a concentric manner.
[0033] The coupling member may be arranged to move from one of the
on- and off-positions to the other thereof in response to angles
formed between the toilet seat and the toilet lid such that, e.g.,
the coupling member may be in its on-position when the angle is
within a preset range, and to be in its off-position when the angle
is outside of the range of the angle. Such a range may range from
50 to 180 degrees, 60 to 160 degrees, 70 to 140 degrees, 80 to 120
degrees, 90 to 100 degrees, and the like. The airway and/or
coupling members may include at least one damper unit moving
between a blocking position and a non-blocking position. The damper
unit is arranged to allow air flow in the non-blocking position and
to block air flow in the blocking position. The damper unit may be
arranged to move from one to the other of the blocking and
non-blocking positions in response to movement of the toilet seat
and/or lid.
[0034] At least a portion of the inlet unit of the airway member
may be embedded into, detachably coupled to, movably coupled to,
and/or fixedly coupled to the toilet seat and/or lid. The airway
member may include at least one air guide unit arranged to
introduce air toward the toilet cavity, where the air introduced
through the air guide unit may be supplied by the pump member or
may be atmospheric air or air from the toilet cavity recirculated
by the pump member after removing the odorous substances therefrom.
The inlet unit may be arranged to be disposed above or over the
toilet base and to have at least one inlet opening in fluid
communication with the toilet cavity. The inlet unit may be
arranged to have a cross-section which is, e.g., a C-shape,
O-shape, U-shape, V-shape, and their combinations. The inlet unit
may be arranged to define multiple inlet openings at least a
substantial number of which may be arranged to be in fluid
communication with the toilet cavity. The inlet openings may
further be arranged to have a total cross-sectional area which may
not be substantially less than that of the rest of the inlet unit.
The inlet unit may include at least one splash guard arranged to
block water inside the toilet cavity from splashing onto the inlet
opening. At least a portion of the inlet unit may be made of or
include elastic, compliant or deformable material and arranged to
decrease its cross-sectional area in response to an external force
exerted thereon. The inlet unit may include at least one guard
disposed along a portion of its length and arranged to block at
least a portion of a space between the inlet unit and the toilet
base. Such a guard may be arranged to be deformable.
[0035] The ventilation system may include at least one filter
member disposed along the airway and/or coupling members and
capable of removing odorous substance from air flowing
therethrough. Such a filter member may include active ingredients
capable of removing the odorous substances from the air by, e.g.,
adsorption, absorption, physical filtration, photochemical
reaction, chemical reaction, and the like, where the photochemical
reaction may include treatment of the air by irradiation of
ultraviolet light rays. The filter member may also include, e.g., a
packed column of the active ingredients, a bag of the active
ingredients, a screen coated with such ingredients, a mesh coated
with such ingredients, and a fabric coated with such ingredients.
The filter member may also be detachably disposed along the airway
and/or coupling members. The ventilation system may also include at
least one dehydration member disposed along the airway and/or
coupling members and capable of reducing humidity of air flowing
therethrough. Such a dehydration member may be arranged to remove
moisture from the air and/or to increase temperature of the air.
The dehydration member may be arranged to include, e.g., a packed
column of moisture-removing materials, a bag of such materials, a
screen coated with such materials, a mesh coated with such
materials, a fabric coated with such materials, and the like. Such
a dehydration member may be detachably disposed along the airway
and/or coupling members. The ventilation system may also include at
least on air treatment member which is arranged to be in fluid
communication with the airway and/or coupling members, to store a
fragrant substance therein, and to release the fragrant substance
into air flowing therethrough. The air treatment member may also be
arranged to include, e.g., a bag of the fragrant substances, a
packed column of such substances, a screen coated with such
substances, a mesh coated with such substances, and a fabric coated
with such substances. Such a air treatment member may be detachably
disposed along the airway and/or coupling members. The ventilation
system may include a sound member arranged to store at least one
sound and to play one or more sounds. The sound member may store
multiple prerecorded sounds to allow selection and playing of at
least one of such sounds. The sound member may include a volume
control unit to manipulate amplitude of the sound played thereby.
The ventilation system may include a control member which may
include at least one of a first unit arranged to initiate operation
of the pump member, a second unit arranged to control a pumping
rate of the pump member, a third unit arranged to terminate the
operation of the pump member, a fourth unit arranged to control air
flow through the airway and/or coupling members, a fifth unit
arranged to initiate operation of the filter member, a sixth unit
arranged to terminate or halt the operation of the filter member, a
seventh unit arranged to initiate operation of the sound member,
and an eighth unit arranged to terminate the operation of the sound
member. In order to perform these functions, the control unit may
also include various sensors such as, e.g., an object sensor
arranged to detect presence and/or absence of an object, a motion
sensor arranged to detect motion of an object, a timer arranged to
detect elapsed time after an event, and the like.
[0036] In another aspect of the present invention, a ventilation
system is provided for a toilet including at least one stationary
part and at least one movable part, where the stationary part has a
toilet base and/or a water reservoir, while the movable part
includes a toilet seat and/or a toilet lid which may be arranged to
be movably coupled to at least a portion of the stationary part.
The toilet base is arranged to define a toilet cavity arranged to
receive a substance giving off odorous air, whereas the toilet seat
may be movably disposed over the toilet base and arranged to define
a center aperture therein. Such a ventilation system is arranged to
transport air from the toilet cavity to an exit for such an odorous
air inside the toilet cavity and may include at least one airway
member and at least one coupling member. The airway member includes
at least one inlet unit and at least one outlet unit, where the
inlet unit may be arranged to have at least one inlet opening which
is in fluid communication with the toilet cavity and where the
outlet unit is arranged to define at least one outlet opening which
is in fluid communication with the exit. The coupling member may
include an upstream end and a downstream end, where the upstream
end is arranged to couple with and to be in fluid communication
with the inlet unit and where the downstream end is arranged to
couple with and to be in fluid communication with the outlet unit.
The coupling member may be arranged to move in order to form
multiple angles therealong to provide a fluid communication between
the inlet and outlet units when such an angle falls within a preset
range and to disrupt the such a communication when such an angle
falls outside of the preset range.
[0037] Embodiments of this aspect of the invention may include one
or more of the following features.
[0038] The foregoing preset range may be from 50 to 180 degrees,
from 60 to 150 degrees, from 70 to 120 degrees, from 80 to 100
degrees, and the like. The ventilation system may include at least
on pump member operatively coupling with the airway and/or coupling
members and arranged to pump or transport air through the airway
and coupling members. Such a pump member may pump the air from the
inlet unit to the outlet unit when the angle formed along the
coupling member falls within the preset range. Other embodiments
described hereinabove may further be applied to the ventilation
system of this aspect of the present invention, unless otherwise
specified and/or unless such embodiments may explicitly conflict
with this aspect of the present invention.
[0039] In another aspect of the present invention, a ventilation
system is provided for a toilet including at least one stationary
part and at least one movable part, where the stationary part has a
toilet base and/or a water reservoir, while the movable part
includes a toilet seat and/or a toilet lid which may be arranged to
be movably coupled to at least a portion of the stationary part.
The toilet base is arranged to define a toilet cavity arranged to
receive a substance giving off odorous air, whereas the toilet seat
may be movably disposed over the toilet base and arranged to define
a center aperture therein. Such a ventilation system is arranged to
transport air from the toilet cavity to an exit for such an odorous
air inside the toilet cavity and may include at least one airway
member and at least one coupling member. In one exemplary
embodiment, such an airway member includes at least one inlet unit
and at least one outlet unit, where the inlet unit is arranged to
define at least one inlet opening in fluid communication with the
toilet cavity and where the outlet unit is arranged to define at
least one outlet opening which is in fluid communication with the
exit. The coupling member is arranged to be disposed between the
inlet and outlet units and to move between at least one on-position
and at least one off-position. Such a coupling member may be
arranged to form a fluid communication between the inlet and outlet
units in the on-position and to disrupt at least a portion of such
a fluid communication therebetween in the off-position. In another
exemplary embodiment, the airway member includes at least one inlet
unit and at least one outlet unit, where the inlet unit is arranged
to have at least one inlet opening which is in fluid communication
with the toilet cavity and where the outlet unit is arranged to
define at least one outlet opening which is in turn in fluid
communication with the exit. The coupling member is arranged to be
disposed between the inlet and outlet units and to change its
configuration between at least one on-configuration and at least
one off-configuration, when the coupling member is arranged to form
a fluid communication in the on-configuration and to disrupt at
least a portion of the fluid communication in the
off-configuration. In either embodiments, the airway and/or
coupling members may be arranged to be at least one of embedded
into, fixedly coupled to, movably coupled to, and detachably
coupled to the toilet seat, toilet lid, and/or toilet base.
[0040] Embodiments of this aspect of the invention may include one
or more of the following features.
[0041] The ventilation system may include at least one pump member
operatively coupling with at least one of the airway and coupling
members and arranged to pump air through the airway and/or coupling
members. Other embodiments described hereinabove may further be
applied to the ventilation system of this aspect of the present
invention, unless otherwise specified and/or unless such
embodiments may explicitly conflict with this aspect of the present
invention.
[0042] In another aspect of the present invention, a ventilation
toilet includes at least one stationary and/or movable part which
is incorporated with various members and/or units of the toilet
ventilation system described hereinabove.
[0043] In one exemplary embodiment, a ventilation toilet may
include a toilet base which defines a toilet cavity therein, which
is arranged to receive a substance giving off odorous air, and
which includes at least one airway member and at least one pump
member each of which may be detachably coupled to, movably coupled
to, fixedly coupled to, and/or embedded into such a toilet base.
When desirable, at least a portion of at least one of such members
may be similarly coupled to other stationary and/or movable parts
of the toilet. The airway member may be arranged to be in fluid
communication with the toilet cavity and an exit for the odorous
air, whereas the pump member may be arranged to pump the odorous
air out of the toilet cavity to the exit through the airway member.
Such a ventilation toilet may generally include a toilet seat
arranged to be movably coupled to the toilet base.
[0044] In another exemplary embodiment, a ventilation toilet may
include a toilet base, a toilet seat, and a water reservoir. The
toilet base defines a toilet cavity arranged to receive a substance
which gives off odorous air and the toilet seat may be arranged to
movably couple with the toilet base. The water reservoir is
arranged to store water, to supply the water to the toilet cavity,
and to include at least on airway member and at least one pump
member each of which may be detachably coupled to, movably coupled
to, fixedly coupled to, and/or embedded into the water reservoir.
When desirable, at least a portion of at least one of such members
may be similarly coupled to other stationary and/or movable parts
of the toilet. The airway member is arranged to be in fluid
communication with the toilet cavity and an exit for the odorous
air, while the pump member is arranged to pump the odorous air out
of the toilet cavity to the exit through the airway member.
[0045] In another exemplary embodiment, a ventilation toilet may
include a toilet base and a toilet seat. The toilet base defines a
toilet cavity arranged to receive a substance giving off odorous
air, whereas the toilet seat is arranged to be movably coupled to
the toilet base and to include at least one airway member and at
least one pump member each of which may be fixedly coupled to,
movably coupled to, embedded into, and/or detachably coupled to the
toilet seat. When desirable, at least a portion of at least one of
such members may be similarly coupled to other stationary and/or
movable parts of the toilet. The airway member is arranged to be in
fluid communication with the toilet cavity and an exit for the
odorous air, while the pump member is arranged to pump the odorous
air out of the toilet cavity to the exit through the airway
member.
[0046] In another exemplary embodiment, a ventilation toilet may
include a toilet base, a toilet seat, and a toilet lid. The toilet
base typically defines a toilet cavity arranged to receive a
substance which gives off odorous air, while a toilet seat is
arranged to movably couple with the toilet base. The toilet lid may
be arranged to movably couple with the toilet base and/or toilet
seat, and include at least one airway member and at least one pump
member which are at least one of movably coupled to, embedded into,
fixedly coupled to, and/or detachably coupled to the toilet lid.
When desirable, at least a portion of at least one of such members
may be similarly couple with other stationary and/or movable parts
of the toilet. The airway member is arranged to be in fluid
communication with the toilet cavity as will as an exit for the
odorous air, whereas the pump member is arranged to pump the
odorous air from the toilet cavity to the exit through the airway
member.
[0047] In another exemplary embodiment, a ventilation toilet may
include a toilet lid, a toilet seat, a toilet base, and at least
one pump member. The toilet base may define a toilet cavity
arranged to receive a substance giving off odorous air and include
at least one first airway member which is arranged to be in fluid
communication with one of an exit for the odorous air and toilet
cavity and to be embedded into, fixedly coupled to, movably coupled
to, and/or detachably coupled to the toilet base. The toilet seat
is arranged to movably couple with the toilet base and may include
at least one second airway member arranged to be in fluid
communication with the other of the toilet cavity and the exit and
to be movably coupled to, fixedly coupled to, detachably coupled
to, and/or embedded into the toilet seat. The toilet lid is
arranged to movably couple with the toilet base and/or seat, and
the pump member is arranged to be embedded into, movably coupled
to, fixedly coupled to, and/or detachably coupled to the toilet
seat, base, and/or lid, and to transport the odorous air out of the
toilet cavity to the exit through the first and second airway
member.
[0048] In another exemplary embodiment, a ventilation toilet may
include a toilet lid, a toilet seat, a toilet base, and at least
one pump member. The toilet base may define a toilet cavity
arranged to receive a substance giving off odorous air. The toilet
seat is arranged to be movably coupled to the toilet base and
includes at least one first airway member which is arranged to be
in fluid communication with the toilet cavity and to be fixedly
coupled to, movably coupled to, detachably coupled to, and/or
embedded into the toilet seat. The toilet lid is arranged to be
movably coupled to the toilet base and/or toilet seat and includes
at least one second airway member which is arranged to be in fluid
communication with an exit for the odorous air and to be embedded
into, fixedly coupled to, detachably coupled to, and/or movably
coupled to the toilet lid. The pump member is arranged to be
embedded into, movably coupled to, fixedly coupled to, and/or
detachably coupled to the toilet base, toilet seat, and/or toilet
lid, and also to transport the odorous air from the toilet cavity
to the exit through the above first and second airway member.
[0049] In another exemplary embodiment, a ventilation toilet may
also include a toilet base, a toilet seat, a water reservoir, and
at least one pump member. The toilet base defines a toilet cavity
arranged to receive a substance giving off odorous air. The water
reservoir is arranged to store water, to supply the water to the
toilet cavity, and to include at least one first airway member
which is arranged to be in fluid communication with one of an exit
for the odorous air and toilet cavity and to be embedded into,
fixedly coupled to, movably coupled to, and/or detachably coupled
to the water reservoir. The toilet seat is arranged to be movably
coupled to the toilet base and to include at least one second
airway member arranged to be in fluid communication with the other
of the toilet cavity and the exit and to be fixedly coupled to,
movably coupled to, detachably coupled to, and/or embedded into the
toilet seat. The pump member may be arranged to be embedded into,
movably coupled to, detachably coupled to, and/or movably coupled
to the toilet base, seat, and/or lid, and to transport the odorous
air out of the toilet cavity to the exit through the first and
second airway member.
[0050] In another exemplary embodiment, a ventilation toilet
includes a toilet base, a water reservoir, a toilet seat, and a
toilet lid. The toilet base defines a toilet cavity arranged to
receive a substance giving off odorous air. The water reservoir
stores water, supplies water to the toilet cavity, and includes at
least one first airway member arranged to be in fluid communication
with one of the toilet cavity and an exit for the odorous air and
to be embedded into, fixedly coupled to, detachably coupled to,
and/or movably coupled to the water reservoir. The toilet seat is
arranged to movably couple with the toilet base, and the toilet lid
is arranged to movably couple with one of the toilet base and
toilet seat and to include at least one second airway member
arranged to be in fluid communication with the other of the toilet
cavity and the exit, and to be embedded into, movably coupled to,
detachably coupled to, and/or fixedly coupled to the toilet seat.
Other embodiments described hereinabove may be applied to such a
ventilation system of this aspect of the present invention, unless
otherwise specified and/or unless such embodiments may explicitly
conflict with this aspect of the present invention.
[0051] In another aspect of this invention, a method may be
provided for transporting odorous air out of a toilet including at
least one stationary part and at least one movable part. The
stationary part may include a toilet base and/or a water reservoir,
while the movable part may include a toilet seat and/or a toilet
lid and be arranged to be movably coupled to at least a portion of
the stationary part. The toilet base is arranged to define a toilet
cavity therein, and the toilet seat is movably disposed over the
toilet base and arranged to define a center aperture therein. In
one exemplary embodiment, the method may include the steps of
providing a fluid communication between an exit for the odorous air
and the toilet cavity while keeping similar and maximum attainable
cross-sectional areas along an entire or at least a substantial
portion of such a fluid communication; at least one of embedding,
fixedly coupling, movably coupling, and detachably coupling at
least a portion of the fluid communication to one or more of such
stationary and/or movable parts of the toilet; operatively coupling
at least one pump member to the fluid communication; receiving
odorous substances giving off an odorous air by the toilet cavity;
generating a negative pressure by the pump member; and pumping the
odorous air out of the toilet cavity toward or to the exit by the
negative pressure created by the pump member through the fluid
communication while incurring a minimum pressure drop therethrough
which may be in turn attained by the similar and maximum
cross-sectional areas thereof. In another exemplary embodiment, the
method includes the steps of providing fluid communication between
the toilet cavity and an exit for the odorous air while keeping
similar cross-sectional shapes along the fluid communication; at
least one of fixedly coupling, movably coupling, detachably
coupling, and embedding at least a portion of the fluid
communication to one or more of the stationary and/or movable parts
of the toilet; operatively coupling a pump member with the fluid
communication; receiving an odorous substance giving off the
odorous air by the toilet cavity; generating a negative pressure by
the pump member; and pumping the odorous air out of the toilet
cavity to the exit by the negative pressure of the pump member
through the fluid communication while incurring a minimum pressure
drop therethrough attained by the similar cross-sectional shapes
thereof. In another exemplary embodiment, the method may include
the steps of providing an airway member defining at least one inlet
opening, at least one outlet opening, and at least one air pathway
which fluidly connects the inlet and outlet openings while
arranging the air pathway to have similar and maximum attainable
cross-sectional areas therealong; at least one of embedding,
fixedly coupling, movably coupling, and detachably coupling at
least a portion of the airway member to one or more of the
stationary and/or movable parts of the toilet; fluidly connecting
such an inlet opening with the toilet cavity; fluidly connecting
such an outlet opening with an exit for the odorous air;
operatively coupling a pump member with the airway member;
receiving an odorous substance giving off the odorous air by the
toilet cavity; generating a negative pressure by a pump member, and
pumping the odorous air out of the toilet cavity toward or to the
exit by the negative pressure of the pump member through the airway
member while incurring a minimum pressure drop therethrough due to
the similar and maximum cross-sectional areas thereof. In another
exemplary embodiment, the method may instead include the steps of
providing an airway member having at least one inlet opening, at
least one outlet opening, and at least one air pathway which
fluidly connects the inlet and outlet openings while arranging such
an air pathway to have similar cross-sectional shapes therealong;
at least one of embedding, detachably coupling, movably coupling,
and fixedly coupling at least a portion of such an airway member to
one or more of the stationary and/or movable parts of the toilet;
fluidly connecting the inlet opening with the toilet cavity fluidly
connecting the outlet opening with an exit for the odorous air;
operatively coupling a pump member with the airway member;
receiving an odorous substance giving off the odorous air by the
toilet cavity; generating a negative pressure by a pump member; and
pumping the odorous air out of the toilet cavity toward or to the
exit by the negative pressure created by the pump member through
the airway member while incurring a minimum pressure drop
therethrough which is attained by such similar cross-sectional
shapes therealong.
[0052] In another aspect of this invention, another method may be
provided for transporting odorous air from a toilet by
incorporating a ventilation system to the toilet including at least
one stationary part and at least one movable part. The stationary
part includes a toilet base and/or a water reservoir, and the
movable part includes a toilet seat and/or a toilet lid each of
which may be movably coupled to at least a portion of the
stationary part. The toilet base is arranged to define a toilet
cavity therein, while the toilet seat is arranged to be movably
disposed on or over the toilet base, to move between its flat
(seat) position and a vertical (seat) position, and to define a
center aperture therein. In one exemplary embodiment, the method
may include the steps of providing an airway member which defines
an air pathway therethrough; operatively coupling the airway member
to a pump member which is capable of transporting air through the
airway member; incorporating an entire portion of the airway member
into at least one of the movable part of the toilet while disposing
one end of the airway member in fluid communication with the toilet
cavity and while disposing the other end of the airway member in
fluid communication with an exit of the odorous air; receiving an
odorous substance giving off the odorous air in the toilet cavity;
starting the pump member and transporting the odorous air from the
toilet cavity to the exit through the airway member; and
terminating the pump member when the transporting may be deemed
completed. In another exemplary embodiment, the method may instead
include the steps of providing an airway member with a first air
pathway and a second air pathway; operatively coupling the airway
member to a pump member which is capable of transporting air
through the above first and second air pathways of the airway
member; incorporating the first air pathway of the airway member
into the toilet seat while disposing one end of the first air
pathway in fluid communication with the toilet cavity;
incorporating the second air pathway of the airway member into the
toilet lid while placing one end of the second portion in fluid
communication with an exit of the odorous air; movably coupling the
first and second air pathways of the airway member; receiving an
odorous substance giving off the odorous air inside the toilet
cavity; starting the pump member, thereby transporting the odorous
air out of the toilet cavity toward or to the exit through the
first and second pathways of the airway member; and terminating the
pump member when the transporting is completed.
[0053] In another aspect of this invention, another method may be
provided for ventilating odorous air using a ventilation system
from a toilet including at least one stationary part and at least
one movable part. The stationary part includes a toilet base and/or
a water reservoir and the movable part includes a toilet seat
and/or a toilet lid each of which may be arranged to movably couple
with at least a portion of the toilet. The toilet base defines a
toilet cavity therein, and the toilet seat is disposed over the
toilet base and defines a center aperture therein. The ventilation
system includes an airway member which includes at least one inlet
unit, at least one first channel unit fluidly connected to the
inlet unit, at least one second channel unit, and at least one
outlet unit fluidly connected to the second channel unit. In one
exemplary embodiment, the method may include the steps of disposing
the inlet unit to be in fluid communication with the toilet cavity
of the toilet base; disposing the outlet unit in fluid
communication with an exit of the odorous air; movably coupling the
first and second channel units in order to form a fluid
communication therethrough in at least one on-position and to
disrupt at least a portion of such a fluid communication in at
least one off-position; transporting the odorous air from the
toilet cavity to or toward the exit through the inlet unit, first
channel unit, second channel unit, and outlet unit when the channel
units may be disposed in the on-position; and terminating the
transporting when the channel units are disposed in the
off-position. In another exemplary embodiment, the method may
include the steps of incorporating at least a substantial portion
of the inlet unit and at least a substantial portion of the first
channel unit into the toilet seat; fluidly connecting the inlet
unit with the toilet cavity of the toilet base; incorporating at
least a substantial portion of the second channel unit and the
outlet unit into the toilet lid; fluidly connecting the outlet unit
with an exit for the odorous air; coupling the first and second
channel units so as to form fluid communication therethrough by
moving the toilet seat and/or lid with respect to the other
thereof; and pumping the odorous air from the toilet cavity to the
exit through the inlet unit, first channel unit, second channel
unit, and outlet unit.
[0054] As used herein, the term "toilet" refers to a device which
includes, e.g., at least one stationary part such as, e.g., a
toilet base and a water reservoir, and at least one movable (or
mobile) part such as, e.g., a toilet seat and a toilet lid. A
typical example is a household toilet with the toilet base, water
reservoir, toilet seat, and toilet lid, where a toilet cavity which
is formed inside the toilet base is at least partially filled with
water and flushed away to a sewer or a septic tank by water stored
in the water reservoir. Another example is the toilet which
includes the toilet base, toilet seat, and optional toilet lid.
Such a toilet does not generally include the water reservoir within
its vicinity and, therefore, depends upon an external water
reservoir which supplies water to partially fill the toilet cavity
and to flush the toilet cavity to the sewer or septic tank along
with feces and urine. The "toilet" also includes various
air-operated toilets frequently used in various transportation
means such as, e.g., recreation vehicles, buses, trains, and
airplanes, various portable toilets used in, e.g., public areas and
construction sites. Within the scope of the present invention, the
"toilet" may include any other devices capable of storing and/or
disposing feces and urine.
[0055] As used herein, an "airway member" generally means any
article including therein at least one air conduit through which
air may travel. The "airway member" typically includes at least one
inlet unit, at least one outlet unit, and at least one channel unit
arranged to fluidly connect such an inlet unit with the outlet
unit. As long as air may be displaced from the inlet unit through
the channel unit to the outlet unit, such an "airway member" may be
arranged to have any (exterior) shapes, sizes, and/or
cross-sectional shapes. The "airway member" may further be arranged
to be airtight except through at least one inlet opening defined in
the inlet unit and at least one outlet opening defines in the
outlet unit and/or except through at least one auxiliary opening
which may bifurcate from any of the inlet, outlet, and/or channel
units. The "airway member" may be synonymous with other
conventional terms including, but not be limited to, "air pathway
member," "air passageway," "air passageway member," and the like.
It is to be understood that an "air pathway" may also mean any air
conduit through which air may travel. Accordingly, when the "air
pathway" is used herein in conjunction with the "airway member"
and/or its various units and/or with a coupling member, the "air
pathway" refers to the air conduit defined in such an "airway
member," its units, and/or coupling member.
[0056] An "upstream" and a "downstream" are to be construed
relatively with respect to a reference. When no explicit reference
is mentioned, a toilet cavity filled with an odorous air is an
upstream, while an exit or a space into which the odorous air is
dispensed and/or to which odor-free air is recycled is a
downstream. When a reference is selected, one end of the reference
which is more proximate to the toilet cavity along an aright is
construed as an upstream, and another end of the reference which is
more proximate to the exit along the air path is construed as a
downstream.
[0057] Unless otherwise defined in the specification, all technical
and/or scientific terms used herein generally have the same meaning
as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which
the present invention belongs. Although the methods and materials
equivalent and/or similar to those described herein may be used in
the practice or testing of the present invention, the suitable
methods and/or materials are only described below. All
publications, patent applications, patents, and/or other references
mentioned herein are to be incorporated by reference in their
entirety. In case of conflict, the present specification, including
the definitions provided hereinabove and hereinafter, will control.
In addition, the materials, methods, and/or examples are
illustrative only and not intended to be limiting the scope of the
present invention.
[0058] Other features and/or advantages of the present invention
will be apparent from the following detailed description and/or
from the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0059] FIG. 1 is a front view (left) and a top view (right) of a
conventional toilet;
[0060] FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of basic members and units of
an exemplary ventilation system according to the present
invention;
[0061] FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram of basic members and/or units
of another exemplary ventilation system according to the present
invention;
[0062] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of another exemplary
ventilation system with a curved coupling member and various
auxiliary members according to the present invention;
[0063] FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram of an exemplary ventilation
arranged to be fitted into an existing toilet according to the
present invention;
[0064] FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram of an exemplary portion of a
ventilation system implemented to a toilet lid according to the
present invention;
[0065] FIG. 4C is a schematic diagram of an exemplary portion of a
ventilation system implemented to a toilet seat according to the
present invention;
[0066] FIG. 4D is a schematic diagram of an exemplary ventilation
system implemented into a toilet lid according to the present
invention;
[0067] FIG. 4E is a schematic diagram of an exemplary ventilation
system implemented into a toilet seat according to the present
invention;
[0068] FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram of an exemplary ventilation
system including an airway member fixedly incorporated into a
toilet seat and toilet lid and coupled to each other by an
exemplary coupling member according to the present invention;
[0069] FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the ventilation system
along the line A-A of FIG. 5A when the coupling member is moved to
or disposed in its on-position according to the present
invention;
[0070] FIG. 5C is a cross-sectional view of the ventilation system
along the line A-A of FIG. 5A when the coupling member is moved to
or disposed in its off-position according to the present
invention;
[0071] FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram of an exemplary ventilation
system including an airway member fixedly incorporated into a
toilet seat and a toilet lid and coupled to each other by another
exemplary coupling member according to the present invention;
[0072] FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view of the ventilation system
along the line B-B of FIG. 6A when the coupling member is moved to
or disposed in its on-position according to the present
invention;
[0073] FIG. 6C is a cross-sectional view of the ventilation system
along the line B-B of FIG. 6A when the coupling member is moved to
or disposed in its off-position according to the present
invention;
[0074] FIG. 7A is a schematic diagram of an exemplary inlet unit of
an airway member of a ventilation system according to the present
invention; and
[0075] FIG. 7B is a schematic diagram of another exemplary inlet
unit of an airway member of another ventilation system according to
the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0076] The present invention generally relates to a ventilation
system for a toilet to discharge odorous air from a toilet cavity
of the toilet through an exit before the odorous air escapes from
the toilet cavity. More particularly, the present invention relates
to a toilet ventilation system for collecting the odorous air from
the toilet cavity, transporting such through air pathways thereof,
and discharging such to the exit. The present invention also
relates to a toilet ventilation system for collecting the odorous
air from the toilet cavity, removing at least a portion of odorous
substances contained therein, and returning or recirculating a
substantially odor-free air into a space in which the toilet is
placed. Such a ventilation system of the present invention may be
incorporated into various toilets in various embodiments such that,
e.g., at least a portion or an entire portion of such a ventilation
system may be embedded into the toilet or its parts, movably
coupled to the toilet or its parts, detachably coupled to the
toilets or its parts, or fixedly coupled to the toilet or its
parts. Accordingly, the ventilation system of the present invention
may be incorporated into a new toilet during its manufacture and/or
may be arranged to be retrofit into an existing toilet. In
addition, the toilet ventilation system of this invention may be
arranged to ventilate a single toilet or to ventilate multiple
toilets. The present invention further relates to various methods
of making such toilet ventilation systems and utilizing such
systems for removing the odorous air from the toilet cavity and/or
for removing the odorous substances therefrom. In addition, the
present invention relates to various processes of making such
toilet ventilation systems.
[0077] FIG. 1 shows a front view (left) and a top view (right) of a
conventional toilet which includes a stationary part such as a
toilet base and movable parts such as a toilet seat and an optional
toilet lid or toilet cover according to the present invention. A
toilet base 20 of a conventional toilet 10 is generally fixedly
attached to a bathroom floor, and defines a toilet cavity 21 and at
least one discharge hole 22 which communicates with a sewer, a
septic tank or other discharge containers. Such a toilet base 20 is
arranged to receive water from an external water reservoir (not
shown in the figure) to fill the toilet cavity 21 to a preset
height, to receive odorous materials into the water, and to flush
the contaminated water through the discharge hole 22. In the
alternative, an optional water reservoir (not shown in the figure)
may be disposed above or over the toilet base 20, receive water
from such an external water reservoir, and supply water to the
toilet base 20 to fill the toilet cavity 21 to the preset height
and/or to empty the contaminated water inside such a cavity 21. The
toilet seat 50 is generally movably coupled to the toilet base 20
and defines therein a center aperture 51 so that an user may sit
thereon and then discharge feces and/or urine therethrough. Such a
toilet seat 50 is generally rotatably coupled to the toilet base 20
by, e.g., a conventional hinge 52, in order to rotate between its
open position and closed position. The toilet seat 50 may include
one or more spacers 53 disposed thereunder to provide a gap 54
between the toilet base 20 and toilet seat 50. The toilet lid 60 is
similarly rotatably coupled to such a toilet base 20 by the same
(or different) hinge 52 to pivot thereabout between its open
position and closed position in order respectively to expose and to
cover the center aperture 51 of the toilet seat 50 disposed
thereunder.
[0078] Ventilation systems of the present invention may be provided
in a variety of embodiments and may be incorporated into the above
conventional toilet and/or other types of toilets. For example,
such a toilet ventilation system of this invention may be arranged
to be fixedly, movably, and/or detachably attached to various
toilets and/or their part(s). Alternatively, the toilet ventilation
system of the present invention may be provided as a ventilation
toilet and/or a ventilation toilet part(s) which may include at
least one or more members and/or units of such a system as will be
described in greater detail below. Following figures illustrate
several exemplary aspects and their embodiments of the ventilation
system and its members and/or units according to the present
invention. It is to be understood, however, that such figures
and/or accompanying descriptions are illustrative only, and not
intended to limit the scope of the present invention. In addition,
such figures are generally not drawn to the scale.
[0079] In one aspect of the present invention, an exemplary toilet
ventilation system generally includes an airway member including at
least one inlet unit, at least one outlet unit, and at least one
channel unit fluidly coupling the inlet unit with the outlet unit.
For example, FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of basic members and/or
units of an exemplary ventilation system according to the present
invention. Such an exemplary ventilation system 100 includes at
least one airway member 200 which in turn includes at least one
inlet unit 210, at least one channel unit 220, and/or at least one
outlet unit 250. The inlet unit 210 is arranged to be fluidly
connected to or to be in fluid communication with air inside the
toilet cavity 21, whereas the outlet unit 250 is arranged to be
fluidly connected to or to be in fluid communication with an exit
(not shown in the figure) such as an external space (e.g.,
atmosphere), a conduit (e.g., a vent duct) which leads to the
external space, an internal space in which a toilet incorporating
such a ventilation system 100 is disposed, and so on. The channel
unit 220 is typically disposed between the inlet and outlet units
210, 250 so that each of opposing ends 221, 222 of the channel unit
220 may be fixedly, movably, and/or detachably coupled to the inlet
and outlet units 210, 250, respectively. As will be explained in
greater detail below, at least a portion 223 of the channel unit
220 may be arranged to move and/or change at least one of its
configuration such as, e.g., its shape, size, arrangement, and
orientation with respect to other parts of the toilet or
ventilation system 100 in response to a position and/or movement of
the inlet unit 210, outlet unit 250, other part(s) of channel unit
220, toilet, and the like. In the alternative, at least a portion
223 of the channel unit 220 may also be arranged to change such a
configuration in response to angles formed between the inlet and
outlet units 210, 250 and/or between other parts of the ventilation
system 100.
[0080] The airway member 200 and its component units which have
been described hereinabove and will be described hereinafter may be
made of any materials such as, e.g., plastics, metals, laminated
fabrics, and so on, as long as they may provide a sufficient
mechanical integrity and strength thereto and as far as they may at
least substantially prevent leakage of air therethrough, although
the plastics matching a color of the toilet and/or its parts are
preferred. Dimensions and/or configurations of such an airway
member 200 may be determined by those of toilet parts into which
the airway member 200 is to be incorporated and/or with which the
airway member 200 is to form an integral or unitary article
Dimensions and/or configurations of the above component units of
the airway member 200 may then be determined based on those of the
airway member 200 and/or various parts of the toilet.
[0081] In another aspect of the present invention, a toilet
ventilation system may include at least one airway member and at
least one coupling member, where the airway member includes more
than one channel unit, while the coupling member fluidly couples
adjacent channel units. For example, FIG. 2B denotes a schematic
diagram of basic members and/or units of another exemplary
ventilation system according to the present invention. Contrary to
the airway member having the deformable or movable portion 223
capable of varying its configuration as illustrated in FIG. 2A, an
airway member 200 of FIG. 2B has at least one inlet unit 210 and at
least one outlet unit 250, and further includes at least one first
channel unit 230 and at least one second channel unit 240 disposed
in series between the above inlet and outlet units 210, 250. A
coupling member 300 is disposed between the first and second
channel units 230, 240 and fluidly connected thereto such that air
may flow from the inlet unit 210 to the outlet unit 250
therethrough. Each end of the first channel unit 230, e.g., at
least one first inlet end 231 and at least one first outlet end
232, may be arranged to be movably, fixedly, and/or detachably
coupled to the inlet unit 210 and to a first coupling end 301 of
the coupling member 300, respectively. In addition, opposing ends
of the second channel unit 240, e.g., at least one second inlet end
241 and at least one second outlet end 242, may also be arranged to
be movably, fixedly, and/or detachably coupled to a second coupling
302 end of the coupling member 300 and the outlet unit 250,
respectively. The above ends of various units 210, 230, 240, 250
and those of the coupling member 300 may be fluidly coupled to each
other by any conventional arrangements as far as they may fixedly
or movably form airtight or well-sealed fluid connection
therebetween to allow an air flow therethrough in an anterograde
and/or retrograde direction. As will be explained in greater detail
below, at least a portion of such a coupling member 300 may also be
arranged to move and/or change at least one of its configurations
(e.g., its shape, size, arrangement, and/or orientation with
respect to other parts of the toilet and/or ventilation system 100
in response to a position and/or movement of the inlet and/or
outlet units 210, 250, the first and/or second channel units 230,
240, and other parts of coupling member 300 and/or in response to
angles formed therebetween.
[0082] The coupling member 300 and its component units which have
been described heretofore and will be described hereinafter may be
made of any materials such as, e.g., plastics, metals, laminated
fabrics, and so on, as long as they may provide a sufficient
mechanical integrity and strength thereto and they may at least
partially prevent leakage of air therethrough, although a rigid,
semi-rigid, and/or deformable plastic which matches a color of the
air way member 200 and/or other parts of the toilet may be
preferred. Dimensions and/or configurations of the coupling member
300 may be determined by those of the airway member 200 or other
toilet parts into which such a coupling member 300 may be
incorporated and/or with which the coupling member 300 is to form
an integral or unitary article. Dimensions and/or configurations of
the above component units of the coupling member 300 may then be
determined based on those of the airway member 200 and/or various
parts of the toilet.
[0083] In another aspect of the present invention, a toilet
ventilation system may similarly have at least one airway member
and at least one coupling member, where the airway member includes
more than one channel unit and where the coupling member has a
curved configuration to fluidly couple adjacent channel units at an
angle and/or traverse to each other. For example, FIG. 3 is a
schematic diagram of another exemplary ventilation system which
includes a curved coupling member and various auxiliary members
according to the present invention. In general, a ventilation
system 100 of this embodiment is similar to that of FIG. 2B, except
that a coupling member 300 has a curved configuration so that its
first coupling end 301 and second coupling end 302 are aligned,
e.g., at about a right angle. Accordingly, a first channel unit 230
and a second channel unit 240 which couple with the first and
second coupling ends 301, 302, respectively, may be aligned
approximately at the same angle, and an inlet unit 210 and an
outlet unit 250 which are respectively coupled to the first and
second channel units 230, 240 may also be aligned approximately at
the same angle. Such a curved coupling member 300 is useful when
various units of the ventilation system 100 have to be disposed in
a limit d space. The toilet ventilation system 100 also includes at
least one pump member 400 functionally and operatively coupling
with the airway member 200 and/or coupling member 300 and capable
of pumping air therethrough. The pump member 400 is generally
arranged to take in air from the toilet cavity 21 through the inlet
unit 210, and then transports such air through the first channel
unit 230, coupling member 300, second channel unit 240, and outlet
unit 250. Such a pump member 400 may be provided with a switch such
that an user may manually control operation thereof. In the
alternative, the pump member 400 may be arranged to operate
automatically so that, e.g., the pump member 400 is turned on when
the user is present, when the user sits on the toilet seat 50, when
the toilet seat 50 and/or toilet lid 60 may be moved to or placed
in a certain position and/or direction, and/or when a movable
coupling member 300 is moved to and/or disposed in its closed
state. Conversely, the pump member 400 may also be arranged to be
turned off when the user is absent or away from the ventilation
system 100 beyond a preset distance, when the user stands up from
the toilet seat 50, when the toilet seat 50 and/or lid 60 is moved
to or disposed in another position or direction, when the movable
coupling member 300 is moved to and/or disposed in its open state,
and the like. Details of such manual and automatic operations of
such a pump member 400 will be provided in greater detail
below.
[0084] Any conventional pumps may be used and/or incorporated into
the pump member 400 as long as such pumps may generate a proper
pressure gradient thereacross so as to transport the odorous or
contaminated air from the toilet cavity 21 to an exit. Examples of
such pumps may include, but not be limited to, a variety of air or
gas pumps, blowers, fans, vacuum pumps, and other conventional air
displacement equipment known in the relevant art. It is
appreciated, however, that the pump member 400 displace the odorous
air from the toilet cavity 21 at and/or over a preset flow rate.
Therefore, it is preferred that the pump member 300 be selected to
have a pumping capacity and/or a pumping power enough to generate
at least a preset pressure drop or gradient between the inlet and
outlet units 210, 250, while accounting for any viscous pressure
drop therebetween. It is also preferred that the pump member 400
have operational characteristics similar to those of metering pumps
which are capable of maintaining air flow rate within a preset
range against temporal and/or spatial variations in pneumatic or
hydraulic resistance, pressure drop along the airway and/or
coupling members 200, 300, and other operational parameters in an
upstream and/or downstream of the pump member 400. In general, such
a pump member 400 may be disposed in any location of the toilet
ventilation system 100. Accordingly, such a pump member 400 may be
disposed apart from the airway and/or coupling member 200, 300 as
far as the pump member 400 maintains a fluid communication with at
least a portion of the airway and/or coupling members 200, 300.
Because the odorous air generally includes a substantial amount of
moisture therein, the pump member 400 may preferably be arranged to
be waterproof or, at least its internal parts may be made of
anti-rusting and/or anticorrosive materials. The pump member 400
may also be arranged to operate by an AC and/or DC power source
and/or by various batteries including rechargeable batteries.
[0085] In another aspect of the present invention, a toilet
ventilation system may also include various auxiliary members in
order to control various physical and/or chemical properties and/or
qualities of air dispensed therefrom. Still referring to FIG. 3,
the exemplary ventilation system 100 may include other auxiliary
members such as, e.g., at least one filter member, at least one
dehydration (or dehumidifying) member, at least one air treatment
member, at least one sound member, at least one control member, and
the like, details of which are to be described as follows.
[0086] The ventilation system 100 may incorporate at least one
filter member 500 at least a portion of which may be disposed along
an airway or air path which includes the airway member 200,
coupling member 300, and their various units. Such a filter member
500 generally includes at least one layer of at least one active
ingredient capable of removing various odorous substances from
contaminated air flowing therethrough by various chemical and/or
physical mechanisms. Examples of such ingredients may include, but
not be limited to, activated charcoals, ashes, and/or other
chemical adsorbents which adsorb the odorous substances by chemical
adsorption, conventional adsorbents which adsorb such substances by
physical adsorption, conventional absorbents capable of absorbing
such substances, chemically active substances capable of reacting
with the odorous substances to destroy or degrade the odorous
substances, and the like. In the alternative, the filter member 500
may also be arranged to physically separate the odorous particles
by various physical separation methods, examples of which may
include, but not be limited to, physical filtration employing
conventional or chemically active filters, physical separation
using centrifugal separation devices and/or electrical
precipitation devices, and so on. The filter member 500 may also be
arranged to photochemically degrade the odorous substances through
various photochemical reactions by, e.g., irradiating
electromagnetic waves such as UV light rays. The filter member 500
may also be processed to form various structures and incorporated
into the ventilation system 100. Examples of such structures may
include, but not be limited to, a packed column of powder,
granules, and/or pellets, a bag including such powder, granules,
and/or pellets, a screen, a mesh, a woven fabric structure, and a
paper-like structure, where an exact shape and/or size of such a
structure is generally not material to the scope of this invention
as long as such a filter member 500 may be able to remove a preset
amount of such odorous substances at or over a preset rate from the
contaminated air.
[0087] It is appreciated that the filter member 500 may become a
necessary element of the ventilation system 100 when such a system
100 is designed to recirculate the contaminated air by removing the
odorous substances therefrom and then by returning the
substantially odor-free air to a space where the toilet is placed.
In such an embodiment, performance of the ventilation system 100
may be deemed mainly determined by a capability of the pump member
400 as well as a capacity of the filter member 500 so that the pump
member 400 preferably has a pumping rate high enough to prevent the
odorous air from escaping the toilet cavity 21 and that the filter
member 500 also has a removal efficiency high enough to effectively
and efficiently remove at least a substantial portion of the
odorous substances from the contaminated air flowing therethrough.
Accordingly, it is preferred that the filter member 500 be shaped
and/or sized to generate less pneumatic resistance to increase or
at least maintain air flow rate therethrough, while providing as
greater a contact area between its active ingredients and the air
contaminated with the odorous substances to enhance its removal
efficiency. However, when such a ventilation system 100 is designed
to discharge the odorous air directly to atmosphere and/or other
external exit, the filter member 500 need not be included and the
performance of the ventilation system 100 becomes mainly a function
of the pumping capability of the pump member 400.
[0088] The ventilation system 100 may include at least one
dehydration or dehumidifying member 510 at least a portion of which
may be disposed along an airway or air path which may include the
airway member 200, coupling member 300, and their various units.
The dehydration member 510 is generally arranged to remove moisture
from the odorous air and/or odor-free air flowing therethrough
and/or to decrease humidity of such air, e.g., by removing water
molecules from such air and/or by increasing temperature thereof.
Accordingly, such a dehydration member 510 may include at least one
layer of at least one active ingredient capable of removing water
molecules from such air flowing therethrough by the chemical and/or
physical mechanisms which are similar to those described in
conjunction with the filter member 500 hereinabove. In addition,
the dehydration member 510 may be arranged to have various
structures similar to those of the filter member 500 as long as
such a member 510 may be able to remove a preset amount of water
molecules at or over a preset rate from the contaminated or
odor-free air. Such a dehydration member 510 is preferably disposed
in an upstream of the filter member 500 in order to enhance
filtering efficiency and/or to prolong a life of the active
ingredients of the filter member 500, although such a member 510
may also be disposed in other locations along the airway and/or
coupling members 200.
[0089] It is appreciated that the dehydration member 510 is
generally not deemed an essential element of the ventilation system
100. However, situations may arise when the dehydration member 510
may have to be incorporated along the airway and/or air path, e.g.,
when the presence of moisture in the contaminated air may adversely
affect the performance and/or life of the active ingredients
included in the filter member 500, when the presence of the
moisture may shorten the life of or adversely affect the
performance of the pump member 400 by an oxidative degradation, and
so on. In such cases, the dehydration member 510 may be disposed in
an upstream of the filter and/or pump members 500, 400 to remove
the moisture from air passing therethrough.
[0090] The ventilation system 100 may further include at least one
air treatment member 510 at least a portion of which may be
disposed along an airway or air path which may include the airway
member 200, coupling member 300, and their various units. The air
treatment member 520 is typically arranged to store fragrant
substances therein and to release the substances into air flowing
therethrough such that an unpleasant odor of the odorous substances
which are not filtered by the above filter member 500 may be
suppressed or camouflaged. The air treatment member 520 may be
arranged so that the fragrant substances may be evaporated into air
flowing therethrough, may be sprayed into such air, may be
heat-evaporated by an auxiliary heater, and so on. The air
treatment member 520 may also be arranged to have various
structures similar to those of the filter and/or dehydration
members 500, 510 and/or may be arranged as a solution or gel as
long as such an air treatment member 520 may be able to add such
fragrant substances into the air flowing therethrough. When
desirable, the air treatment member 520 may include antibacterial,
antiviral, and/or other hygienic substances to kill germs inside
the bathroom. It is noted that the air treatment member 520 is
preferably disposed in a downstream of the filter member 500 such
that the fragrant and/or hygienic substances are unnecessarily
adsorbed or absorbed by the active ingredients of the filter member
500.
[0091] A sound member 530 may also be incorporated into the
ventilation system 100 of this invention so that the sound member
530 may play prerecorded sounds so as to camouflage unpleasant
sounds accompanying urination or defecation. When desirable, the
prerecorded sounds of the sound member 530 may be arranged to be
similar to the unpleasant sounds such as, e.g., sounds of a water
stream, a river, and/or a waterfall, sounds of volcanic eruption,
those of machine guns, and so on, in order to better camouflage the
unpleasant sounds. The sound member 530 may be arranged to allow an
user to select and play one or more of the prerecorded sounds of
his or her choice and may also include a volume control unit which
allows the user to control an amplitude of the sound played
thereby. Such a sound member 530 may also be arranged to be
manually and/or automatically activated, e.g., when it receives an
user input command, when it senses a presence of the user in a
vicinity of the ventilation system 100, when it senses the user to
dispose or move the toilet seat 50 on top of the toilet base 20,
when it senses the user sitting on the toilet seat 50, when it
senses the user to dispose or move the toilet lid 60 away from the
toilet seat 50 and/or to its open position, when it senses an
activation of the pump member 400, and so on. In addition, the
sound member 530 may play the sound selected by the user more than
once so that the sound member 530 may play one or more selected
sounds once, for a preset number of times, and/or for a preset
period. In the alternative, the sound member 530 may play the
sounds continuously until it receives another user input command,
may play different sounds consecutively according to an order of
such sounds stored therein, and the like. The sound member 530 may
further be arranged to be turned off by any events which may be
opposite to the foregoing events, after a preset period from an
onset of its operation, in a preset period after the user departs
from the toilet, in a preset period after the user flushes the
toilet, and the like. The sound member 530 may also allow the user
to adjust a volume of its sound and/or automatically control such a
volume in accordance with a preset algorithm and/or with various
operational parameters, where examples of such parameters may
include, but not be limited to, defecating and/or urinating sounds
monitored by a sound sensor, concentration of the odorous
substances in the contaminated water in the toilet cavity measured
by various liquid concentration sensors, concentration of such
substances in the air in the toilet cavity measured by various gas
concentration sensors, and so on. The sound member 530 may also be
arranged to play various sounds which may be selected randomly
and/or which may match the urinating and/or defecating sounds
measured inside the toilet cavity.
[0092] The ventilation system 100 may include at least one control
member 600 arranged to control a variety of operations of various
members and/or units of such a system 100. For example, the control
member 600 may be arranged to control engagement and/or
disengagement of the pump member 400 and/or its pumping rate. As
described above, the control member 600 may be arranged to be
primarily controlled by the user or may include various sensors to
automatically turn on or off the pump member 400 by detecting the
presence and/or absence of the user in the vicinity of the
ventilation system 100 and/or in (or near) a preset location with
respect to such a system 100. Any conventional sensors may be used
for the above purposes and examples of such sensors may include,
but not be limited to, ultrasound or infrared motion sensors,
optical sensors using visible light rays or laser, sound sensors
capable of detecting various sounds and/or noises made by the user,
and so on. The control member 600 may also include various sensors
to detect a force exerted on the toilet seat 50 and/or toilet base
20 to turn on or off the pump member 400 using conventional force
transducers, accelerometers, and the like. In the alternative,
various motion and/or position sensors may be incorporated into the
control member 600 to monitor positions and/or movements of various
parts of the toilet and/or the ventilation system 100. For example
and as will be described in greater detail below, the pump member
400 may be turned on and off when the toilet seat 50 is placed
respectively on top of and away from the toilet base 20, when the
toilet lid 60 is placed respectively away from and on top of the
toilet seat 50, when an angle formed between the toilet seat 50 and
the toilet lid 60 respectively exceeds and falls short of a preset
value, when an angle formed between the toilet seat 50 and toilet
base 20 respectively falls short of and exceeds a preset value, and
so on. Once the pump member 400 is engaged, the control member 600
may be arranged to keep the pump member 400 running until the user
may supply another user input command to terminate the operation of
the pump member 400, until the user stands up from the toilet seat
59, until the user flushes the toilet, until various sensors detect
a departure of the user from the toilet, and the like.
Alternatively, the control member 600 may include a timer to
automatically turn off the pump member 400, e.g., after a preset
period from an onset of the operation of the pump member 400, in a
preset period after the user departs from the toilet, in a preset
period after the user flushes the toilet, and the like. The control
member 600 and/or pump member 400 may be operatively coupled to
various fixtures of the bathroom such that the pump member 400 may
start or terminate its pumping operation when a light switch moves
respectively to its on- and off-positions. Such a control member
600 may also be arranged to allow the user to adjust a speed and/or
volumetric pumping rate of the pump member 400 and/or to
automatically control such a flow rate in accordance with various
operational parameters examples of which may include, but not
limited to, defecating and/or urinating sounds monitored by a sound
sensor, concentration of the odorous substances in the contaminated
water in the toilet cavity measured by conventional liquid
concentration sensors, concentration of the odorous substances in
the air in the toilet cavity measured by various gas concentration
sensors, and so on.
[0093] The control member 600 may also be arranged to synchronize
operations of various auxiliary members with those of the pump
member 400 and/or various sensors of the ventilation system 100.
For example, the control member 600 may control the sound member
530 to start to play one or more prerecorded sounds simultaneously
with and/or in a preset period after an onset of the operation of
the pump member 400, and to stop playing such sounds simultaneously
with and/or in another preset period after a termination of the
operation of the pump member 400. In another example, the control
member 600 may manipulate air flow and/or its rate through the
airway and/or coupling members 200, 300, e.g., by opening, closing,
and/or metering various on-off valves, metering valves, and/or
control valves disposed along such members 200, 300, by
manipulating rpm of the pump member 400, and so on. In addition,
the ventilation system 100 may include flaps, guards, and/or other
air flow controllers and the control member 600 may be arranged to
control operations of such in order to manipulate the air flow and
its rate.
[0094] Although not shown in the figure, the ventilation system 100
may also various arrangements to reduce noise originating from the
pump member 400, due to mechanical vibration of various members
and/or units of the ventilation system 100, due to such vibration
of various parts of the toilet, and the like. For example,
conventional materials capable of absorbing such noise and/or
mechanical vibration may be disposed around and/or along the pump
member 400 and other members and/or units of such a ventilation
system 100 in order to prevent noise to propagate into a
surrounding environment, where such materials may be fabricated in
various forms examples of which may include, but not be limited to,
pads, linings, foams, fillers, and so on. In addition, conventional
elastic materials may be inserted in various coupling locations
along the ventilation system 100 to reduce the vibration of various
members and/or units of the ventilation system 100. Moreover,
anti-noise devices capable of generating waves inverse to the
noises may also be used to compensate for such noises.
[0095] In operation, the airway and coupling members 200, 300 are
incorporated into various parts of the toilet. For example, the
Inlet unit 210 of the airway member 300 is disposed below or around
the toilet seat 50 so as to form fluid communication with air
inside the toilet cavity 21. The outlet unit 250 is connected to an
exit such as the atmosphere, a vent leading to the atmosphere,
and/or the bathroom. The first inlet end 231 of the first channel
unit 230 is releasably, movably or fixedly coupled to the inlet
unit 210, whereas the second outlet end 242 of the second channel
unit 240 is releasably, movably or fixedly attached to the outlet
unit 250. The coupling member 300 is then disposed between and
fluidly connected to the first outlet end 232 of the first channel
unit 230 and the second inlet end 241 of the second channel unit
240. The pump member 400 is functionally incorporated along the
airway and/or coupling members 200, 300, and the auxiliary members
such as the filter member 500, the dehydration member 510, the air
treatment member 520, the sound member 530, and the control member
600 are incorporated into appropriate positions of the ventilation
system. Thereafter, the coupling member 300 is moved to or
positioned in on-closed position by, e.g., moving the toilet cover
50 and/or toilet lid 60, and the pump member 400 is manually or
automatically turned on, thereby displacing the odorous air from
the toilet cavity 21 to the exit through the outlet unit 250. After
use, the pump member 400 may be turned off manually or
automatically or, alternatively, the coupling member 300 may be
moved to or positioned in its off-position by moving the toilet
cover 50 and/or lid 60.
[0096] As described hereinabove, it is generally preferred that at
least a portion of the filter member 500, dehydration member 510,
air treatment member 520, sound member 530, and/or control member
600 be incorporated into the airway and/or coupling members 200,
300 by, e.g., embedding, fixedly coupling, and/or detachably
coupling such a portion of the foregoing members into the airway
and/or coupling members 200, 300. More preferably, the entire
portion of such members 500-600 may be incorporated into the airway
and/or coupling members 200, 300. The latter embodiment of the
present invention offers an advantage over the prior art toilet
ventilation systems which may generally include at least one
component placed external to, around, and/or behind the toilet. For
example, the prior art pumps are generally placed behind the toilet
base and/or below the water reservoir, and connected to airways by
a thin and long plastic tubing. Such an embodiment has posed a
great challenge when the prior art ventilation systems must be
incorporated into a tiny toilet and/or installed in a small
bathroom. In addition, the plastic tubing is generally disposed
around various parts of the toilet, thereby not only interfering
with efficient handling or cleaning but also diminishing the
overall aesthetics of the toilet. In contrary, the foregoing
ventilation system of the present invention incorporates at least a
substantial portion of its airway and/or coupling members to the
toilet seat 50 and/or lid 60. No members and/or units of the
ventilation system of the present invention are required to be
placed external to the airway and/or coupling members 200, 300.
Therefore, such a ventilation system of the present invention not
only obviates the aforementioned installation problems associated
with its prior art counterparts but also maintains and enhances the
toilet aesthetics.
[0097] In another aspect of the present invention, the foregoing
members and/or units thereof may be fixedly, movably, and/or
detachably incorporated into various parts of a toilet. First, FIG.
4A shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary ventilation arranged
to be fitted into an existing toilet according to the present
invention. An exemplary ventilation system 100 includes an airway
member 200 which in turn includes an inlet unit 210 and an outlet
unit 250. Such an inlet unit 210 includes an inlet body 211 shaped
as a closed loop and defining multiple inlet openings 212
therearound at a preset distance or interval, while the outlet unit
250 includes an outlet body 251 in which the pump member 400 and
other auxiliary members may be disposed and defines an outlet
opening 252 through which contaminated air may be disposed to an
exit. In one exemplary embodiment, the inlet and outlet units 210,
250 may be fixedly (or movably) and directly coupled to each other.
In another exemplary embodiment, such units 210, 250 may be coupled
to each other by the foregoing coupling member which is not
included in the figure for simplicity of illustration. As will be
described in greater detail below, the airway member 200 may
include multiple channel units (not shown in the figure) between
the inlet and outlet units 210, 250 and the coupling member may be
arranged to allow translational and/or rotational movement of one
of the units 210-250 with respect to the other thereof. Still
referring to FIG. 4A, the airway member 200 may be shaped and/or
sized to be movably or detachably coupled to and/or between various
parts of the toilet. For example, the inlet unit 210 may be
disposed between the toilet seat and a top portion of the toilet
base while arranging the inlet openings 212 oriented into the
toilet cavity so that the odorous air may be taken in by the pump
member 400 through such inlet openings 212. The outlet unit 250 may
be disposed in almost any location on, below or around various
parts of the toilet, on a bathroom floor or at a distance from the
toilet as long as such disposition does not obstruct the operation
of the toilet ventilation system 100 and the ordinary use of the
toilet and/or bathroom.
[0098] Secondly, various members and/or units of the ventilation
system 100 may be movably, fixedly, and/or detachably incorporated
into different parts of the toilet. Following FIGS. 4B and 4C
illustrate a few exemplary embodiments of such ventilation systems
of this invention. For example, FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram of
an exemplary portion of a ventilation system which is implemented
into a toilet lid according to the present invention. In this
exemplary embodiment, an outlet unit 250 is incorporated into a
front and/or a rear of a toilet lid 60 in such an arrangement that
its outlet body 251 is disposed in a center of the toilet lid 60,
its outlet opening 252 may extend upwardly from the outlet body
251, while an opposing opening 253 may extend downwardly from the
outlet body 251. More particularly, such an opposing opening 253
may preferably be shaped, sized, and/or disposed in order to couple
with at least one opening of an inlet unit and/or a coupling member
both of which are not shown in the figure for simplicity of
illustration. Similar to the previous embodiment, the outlet body
251 may also define an internal space in which the pump member 400
and/or auxiliary members may be disposed. Another exemplary
embodiment is described in FIG. 4C which is a schematic diagram of
an exemplary portion of a ventilation system implement d to a
toilet seat according to the present invention. An inlet 210 of
this exemplary embodiment is generally similar to that of FIG. 4A,
except that such an inlet unit 210 is typically embedded inside a
toilet seat 50. More particularly, an inlet body 211 of such an
inlet unit 210 is disposed inside the toilet seat 50 not to be
exposed therethrough, while multiple inlet openings 212 of the
inlet unit 210 are oriented toward a center aperture 51 of the
toilet seat 50 and disposed to be in fluid communication with air
in the toilet cavity. Therefore, such inlet openings 212 may be
arranged to be flush with an outer surface of the toilet seat 50,
to protrude out of such an outer surface, and/or to extend inwardly
and beyond such an outer surface. In addition, the inlet unit 210
includes an opposite opening 213 which is shaped, sized, and/or
disposed so as to couple with at least one opening of an outlet
unit and/or coupling member both of which are not shown in the
figure for the sake of simplicity of illustration. It is
appreciated that the inlet unit 210 may form an inlet body in which
the pump member and/or other auxiliary members may be disposed. In
such an embodiment, the outlet unit 250 may not include the
foregoing outlet body.
[0099] Thirdly, at least a substantial or an entire portion of the
ventilation system 100 may be movably, fixedly, and/or detachably
incorporated into different parts of the toilet. Following FIGS. 4D
and 4D are a few exemplary embodiments of such ventilation systems
of the present invention. For example, FIG. 4D is a schematic
diagram of an exemplary ventilation system implemented into a
toilet lid according to the present invention. Such a ventilation
system 100 includes an airway member 200 with an inlet unit 210 and
an outlet unit 250 and a coupling member 300. The inlet unit 210
includes a pair of inlet bodies 211A, 211B which are arranged in an
approximately parallel mode and each of which defines an inlet
opening 212A, 212B in its distal or upstream end. Such inlet
openings 212A, 212B are also oriented to face each other such that,
when disposed around the toilet cavity, the odorous air may be
taken in by the pump member 400 therethrough. The inlet bodies
211A, 211B also defines opposing ends coupled to a pair of couplers
of the coupling member 300 which in turn couples with the outlet
unit 250. Such an outlet unit 250 is similar to that of FIG. 4B,
however, is fixedly, movably, and/or detachably coupled to a toilet
lid 60 so that the outlet unit 250 moves in unison with the toilet
lid 60. Moreover, the coupling member 300 disposed between the
inlet and outlet units 210, 250 is preferably arranged to allow one
of such units 210, 250 to translate and/or rotate with respect to
the other thereof such that an angle formed between the inlet and
outlet units 210, 250 may vary according to a relative position of
one of such units 210, 250 with respect to the other of such units
210, 250. The outlet unit 250 defines an outlet body 251 in which a
pump member 400 (and/or other auxiliary members) may be disposed.
The outlet unit 250 is generally fixedly or detachably coupled to a
front and/or rear of the toilet lid 60 or, in the alternative, may
be embedded on, over, and/or into the toilet lid 60 to form an
unitary article. Thus, in any of these embodiments, such an outlet
unit 250 may move in unison with the toilet lid 50. Such a
ventilation system 100 may be used for the toilet by coupling the
toilet lid 60 to the toilet seat 50 and/or toilet base 20 and by
disposing the inlet unit 210 between the toilet seat 50 and base
20. Accordingly, the coupling member 300 is preferably arranged to
rotate angularly so as to accommodate movements of the toilet lid
60 relative to the toilet seat 50. The inlet member 210 may be
fixedly coupled to and/or stationarily disposed on the toilet base
20 or, alternatively, detachably coupled to the toilet seat 50 in
order to move therewith. Another exemplary embodiment is shown in
FIG. 4E which is a schematic diagram of an exemplary ventilation
system which is implemented into a toilet seat according to the
present invention. Such a ventilation system 100 includes an airway
member 200 comprising an inlet unit 210 and an outlet unit 250. The
inlet unit 210 is generally similar to that of FIG. 4C, except that
the inlet unit 210 of such an embodiment defines an inlet body 211
disconnected in its middle to form an U-shaped air path. The inlet
unit 210 is coupled to an outlet body 251 of the outlet unit 250 in
a location approximately opposite to a disconnected portion of the
air path. The outlet unit 250 includes an outlet body 251 in which
a pump member 400 (and/or other auxiliary members) is disposed.
Such an outlet unit 250 may be disposed in various embodiments. For
example, the outlet body 251 may be fixedly or detachably coupled
directly to the toilet seat 50 to move in unison therewith. In such
an embodiment, the ventilation system 100 may not require any
coupling member. Alternatively, the outlet body 251 is coupled to
the inlet unit 210 and, therefore, indirectly coupled to the toilet
seat 50. In this embodiment, an optional coupling member may also
be disposed between the inlet and outlet units 210, 250 in order to
allow movements of one of such units 210, 250. In the alternative,
the outlet body 251 may also be fixedly or detachably coupled to
the toilet base 20, optional water reservoir, and/or other parts of
the toilet and/or bathroom. In such an embodiment, a coupling
member may not only be disposed between the inlet and outlet units
210, 250 but also be arranged to allow movements of the inlet unit
210 while maintaining fluid communication between the inlet and
outlet units 210, 250.
[0100] It is to be understood that the performance and efficiency
of the ventilation system 100 of the present invention is related
to how effectively the pump member 400 may discharge the
contaminated or odorous air from the toilet cavity 21. Although
such performance and efficiency may generally be determined by the
pumping capacity of the pump member 400, they are also affected by
pneumatic or hydraulic resistances along various air paths of the
airway and/or coupling members 200, 300. When such air paths have a
significant pneumatic or hydraulic resistance, the pump member 400
may have to be able to develop a greater pressure difference
thereacross to compensate such resistance and may generate a louder
noise during its operation. Therefore, the airway member 200 and/or
coupling member 300 may preferably be shaped and/or sized in order
to minimize such resistance therealong.
[0101] In such an aspect of the present invention, the airway
and/or coupling members 200, 300 may preferably be arranged to have
substantially identical and/or similar cross-sectional areas along
their longitudinal axes. That is, all of inlet unit 210, channel
units 220, 230, 240, outlet unit 250 of the airway member 200 and
coupling member 300 may be shaped and/or sized to have the
cross-sectional areas which fall within preset ranges. In one
example, the cross-sectional areas of the foregoing units and
members may be maintained at least substantially identical to each
other, although their exact shapes may vary from location to
location. Alternatively, such cross-sectional areas may be arranged
to vary but not beyond a certain range such that the greatest
cross-sectional area does not deviate from the smallest
cross-sectional area, e.g., by no more than 3%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%,
25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 75%, 100% or more. Accordingly, the
resistance along the foregoing units 210-250 and members 200, 300
may be maintained at its minimum, a higher efficiency may be
attained by the pump member 400 with a preset capacity, and/or the
pump member 400 may be required to have the least capacity and to
generate the least noise for a given load such as, e.g., a
predetermined air suction rate. In addition, by preventing sudden
changes in the cross-sectional areas, unnecessary pressure drop due
to an abrupt contraction and/or expansion thereof may be avoided.
It is appreciated that this aspect of the present invention may be
assessed preferably by measuring the cross-sectional areas from an
immediate upstream of the pump member 400 to an immediate
downstream of a distal end of the inlet unit 210. In another aspect
of the present invention, the inlet unit 210, channel units 220,
230, 240, outlet unit 250 of the airway member 200 and the coupling
member 300 may be arranged to have identical or at least
substantially similar shapes. In addition, such units 210-250
and/or members 200, 300 may be preferably arranged to have the
cross-sectional shapes with aspect ratios greater than 1.0, e.g.,
1.25, 1.5, 1.75, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, 6.0, 7.0 or 8.0, where the
aspect ratio as used herein may be defined as a ratio of a
horizontal dimension of the cross-sectional shape to its vertical
dimension. In general, the airway member 200 and its various units
210-250 and/or the coupling member 300 may have substantially
rectangular shapes or substantially oblong oval shapes in order to
construct a flat ventilation system 100 which may require less
space for installation and be easier to be incorporated into and/or
coupled to various parts of the toilet. It is appreciated again
that this aspect of the present invention may be assessed
preferably by measuring various cross-sectional areas from an
immediate upstream of the pump member 400 to an immediate
downstream of a distal end of the inlet unit 210. In another aspect
of this invention, the airway member 200, its units 210-250, and
coupling member 300 may be arranged to have a pneumatic or
hydraulic resistance which causes a viscous pressure drop not
exceeding a preset percentage of another pressure drop capable of
being generated by the pump member 40 which operates at a given
condition without coupling with any of the airway and coupling
members 200, 300 in its upstream and/or downstream. For example,
the airway member 200 including its various units 210-250 and the
coupling member 300 may be arranged to have an overall resistance
which causes the pressure drop corresponding to less than, e.g.,
2%, 3%, 5%, 7%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45% or 50% of
the pressure drop which is capable of being generated by the pump
member 40 between its inlet opening and atmosphere to take in air
thereinto or to discharge air therefrom. It is to be understood
that such an aspect of this invention may be assessed preferably by
measuring such pressure drops from an immediate upstream of the
pump member 400 to an immediate downstream of a very distal end of
the inlet unit 210 and by operating such a pump member 400 in its
medium or middle range of power. In yet another aspect of this
invention, the airway member 200 and its units 210-250 and the
coupling member 300 may also be arranged to cause a viscous energy
loss which does not exceed a preset percentage of a mechanical
energy generated by the pump member 400 operating at a preset
condition. For example, the airway member 200 including its units
210-250 and coupling member 300 may be arranged to cause an overall
viscous energy loss corresponding to less than, e.g., 2%, 3%, 5%,
7%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45% or 50% of the energy
capable of being generated by such a pump member 400. It is to be
understood that such an aspect of this invention may be assessed
preferably by measuring the viscous and mechanical energy when the
pump member 400 operates in its medium or middle range of
power.
[0102] It is to be understood that a reference may be needed in
assessing the above cross-sectional areas, aspect ratios, pressure
drops, and/or energy when the airway and/or coupling members 200,
300 may bifurcate and/or form multiple branches therealong. In such
cases, it is generally preferred that such cross-sectional areas,
aspect ratios, pressure drops, and/or energy be assessed between
the immediate upstream of the pump member 400 and a location in the
airway or coupling member 200, 300 immediately downstream of the
bifurcating and/or branching point. In the alternative, such
cross-sectional areas, aspect ratios, pressure drops, and/or energy
may further be assessed by adding up the cross-sectional areas,
lengths, heights, pressure drops, and/or energy associated with
each of such branches of the airway and/or coupling members 200,
300 and then by obtaining a total cross-sectional area, an
effective aspect ratio (which may be defined herein as a ratio of a
total length to a total height of the airway and/or coupling
members 200, 300), a total pressure drop, and/or a total loss of
energy. It is also to be understood that the above cross-sectional
areas, aspect ratios, pressure drops, and/or energy may preferably
be assessed with a reference to the immediate downstream of the
very distal end of the inlet unit 210. Therefore, one or multiple
inlet openings provided at the distal end of the inlet unit 210 for
taking the odorous air into the inlet unit 210 may generally not be
taken into account when calculating such cross-sectional areas,
aspect ratios, pressure drops, and/or energy. When the pump member
400 includes couplers and/or internal air paths and when at least a
portion of the airway and/or coupling members 200, 300 has to be
expanded or contracted to fit to the couplers, cross-sectional
areas, aspect ratios, pressure drops, and/or mechanical energy loss
associated with such couplers, internal paths, and such a portion
of the airway and/or coupling members 200, 300 are also not taken
into account.
[0103] The ventilation system 100 conforming to these aspects of
the present invention offers a major advantage over the prior art
counterparts. For example, prior art toilet ventilation devices
include two or three separate air channels connected to each other
by appropriate connections. To economize or minimize installation
space, such connections tend to be made of flexible tubing which is
relatively thin compared with other parts of such ventilation
devices. Therefore, the connections and tubing provide a
significant amount of hydraulic resistance and result in a
significant pressure drop therethrough. In order to compensate such
a loss, the prior art ventilation devices have to employ various
pumps with greater capacity at the cost of a higher price and
louder noise. To the contrary, by embedding and/or coupling at
least a portion of the airway and/or coupling members 200, 300 to
the toilet seat and/or lid 50, 60, the above toilet ventilation
systems of the present invention may obviate the need for external
connections between the airway and coupling members 200, 300,
thereby allowing air pathways of the ventilation system 100 to
include internal air pathways having cross-sectional areas
substantially similar to those of the ventilation system 100
itself. Accordingly, the foregoing ventilation systems 100 allow
attainment of a maximum allowable cross-sectional area of an
internal air pathway (such as the cross-sectional areas of the
airway and/or coupling members 200, 300), cause the least pneumatic
or hydraulic resistance therethrough, and cause the least viscous
energy loss therealong. Moreover, a shape-sensitive pneumatic or
hydraulic resistance along such members 200, 300 may be minimized
by maintaining, e.g., substantially identical or similar
cross-sectional shapes throughout the airway and/or coupling
members 200, 300. For example, unnecessary pressure drops due to
sudden expansion or contraction in the internal cross-sectional
areas may be minimized. Accordingly, the overall hydraulic or
pneumatic resistance of the ventilation system 100 may be
maintained at the minimum level and the pump member 400 with a
smaller capacity may suffice to displace a predetermined amount of
air from the toilet cavity 21 at a predetermined speed, thereby
reducing the noise associated with operation of the pump member 400
at the minimum level as well.
[0104] Configurational and/or operational variations and/or
modifications of the above exemplary toilet ventilation systems and
various members and units thereof which have been discussed
hereinabove and which will be described heretofore also fall within
the scope of this invention.
[0105] The airway member and its inlet, channel, and/or outlet
units may be arranged to have various shapes and/or sizes according
to a variety of embodiments as long as they may satisfy the
foregoing requirements for the cross-sectional areas, aspect
ratios, pressure drops, and/or energy. In addition, the airway
member may include one or more inlet, channel, and/or outlet units
which may be coupled to each other in a series and/or parallel
arrangement and which may also be arranged to be straight or
curved. Detailed configuration and/or disposition of such an airway
member and its units are typically governed by a space requirement
(i.e., a space available around and/or between various parts of the
toilet) and, therefore, are typically not critical to the scope of
the present invention as far as the above requirements for the
cross-sectional areas, aspect ratios, pressure drops, and/or energy
may be met. Similarly, the coupling member may also be arranged to
have various shapes and/or sizes according to various embodiments
as long as they also meet the foregoing requirements for the
cross-sectional areas, aspect ratios, pressure drops, and/or
energy. Accordingly, various ends or couplers of such a coupling
member are preferably designed not to form a sudden expansion or
contraction and not to cause any unnecessary pressure drop
thereacross. The coupling member may also be formed to be straight
or curved and may include multiple branches which may be connected
to each other and/or to the inlet, channel or outlet unit of the
airway member in a series and/or parallel arrangement. Detailed
configuration and/or disposition of the coupling member are
typically governed, e.g., by arrangements and/or configurations of
various units of the airway member to be coupled thereby and/or by
a space requirement (i.e., a space available around and/or between
various parts of the toilet) and, therefore, are typically not
critical to the scope of the present invention as far as the above
requirements for the cross-sectional areas, aspect ratios, pressure
drops, and/or energy may be met.
[0106] It is appreciated that the foregoing channel unit of the
airway member may be utilized to serve as the coupling member or,
conversely, the foregoing coupling member may be utilized to serve
as the channel unit of the airway member. As used in the present
invention, however, it is preferred that the channel unit be
stationary and not mobile whether it may be either straight or
curved, whereas such a coupling member be stationary or mobile and
straight or curved. More particularly, the mobile coupling member
may be comprised of multiple couplers at least on of which may be
arranged to rotate, pivot, translate or otherwise move with respect
to the other(s). Accordingly, a straight or curved stationary air
pathway disposed between the inlet and outlet units of the airway
member may serve as either the channel unit or coupling member,
whereas a straight or curved mobile air pathway disposed between
such units is preferably classified as the coupling member. It is
further appreciated that, regardless of the foregoing distinctions,
disposition of an air pathway may determine whether the air pathway
may be a part of the channel unit or coupling member, because
classification of such an air pathway does not affect functional
characteristics of the ventilation system of the present invention.
Accordingly, it is plausible to provide the ventilation system with
the airway member consisting of a single unitary air pathway
defining the inlet opening(s) in one end and the outlet opening(s)
in its other end. In such an embodiment, the ventilation system may
be deemed to include neither the channel unit nor the coupling
member. Conversely, the ventilation system may instead include the
airway and coupling members in which multiple channel units and
stationary or mobile couplers may be arranged in a variety of
orders.
[0107] Similarly, the inlet and/or outlet units may include one or
more inlet and/or outlet bodies in which one or more of the pump
member and/or auxiliary members may be disposed. Such inclusion (or
even omission) of the inlet and/or outlet bodies in the inlet
and/or outlet units is generally a matter of choice of one skilled
in the art and typically determined by a space available in and/or
around various parts of the toilet. Thus, as exemplified in the
above figures, the pump and auxiliary members may be disposed in
the outlet body of the outlet unit. When desirable, however, an
inlet body may be arranged to form an internal space in which one
or more of the above pump and auxiliary members may be disposed.
Alternatively, both of the pump and auxiliary members may be
disposed external to the inlet and outlet units as well.
[0108] As described hereinabove, various members and/or their units
of the ventilation system may be coupled to each other and/or to
various parts of the toilet by various embodiments. For example,
the airway and coupling members may be fixedly coupled to each
other in order to form the ventilation system occupying a fixed
space. Such a ventilation system may be stationarily disposed or
may also be movably disposed, e.g., to move with the toilet lid or
toilet seat as respectively exemplified in FIGS. 4D and 4E.
Alternatively, the airway and coupling members may be detachably
coupled to each other so that the inlet and/or outlet units may be
implemented into different parts of the toilet and the coupling
member is disposed between such units to provide fluid
communication therebetween and/or to allow optional movements of
one unit with respect to the other. Such a ventilation system may
generally be incorporated into a preexisting toilet by attaching
various members and/or units of the system into the same or
different parts of the toilet. In the alternative, different
members and/or units of the ventilation system may be embedded into
and/or fixedly coupled to the same or different parts of the toilet
so that the ventilation system is assembled by assembling the
toilet itself.
[0109] When a portion of the airway member is arranged to move
relative to other portions thereof in response to movements of
various parts of the toilet or to move along with such parts of the
toilet, the coupling member is arranged to accommodate movements of
the mobile portion of the airway member while maintaining fluid
communication between such different portions of the airway member.
In on exemplary embodiment, the coupling member may be made of an
elastic or flexible tubing and/or may include a bellow which may
bend or otherwise deform in response to the movements of such a
mobile portion of the airway member. In another embodiment, the
coupling member may include an inner rotor coupled to one of the
inlet and outlet units and an outer rotor coupled to the other of
such units. Such rotors are arranged to be disposed concentrically
while isolating an internal space formed inside such an inner rotor
from atmosphere. By arranging one of the rotors to rotate about the
other while keeping fluid communication between the inlet and
outlet units, such coupling member accommodates various movements
of the inlet and/or outlet units. In another embodiment, the
coupling member is arranged to include at least one coupler
arranged to move between an on-position and an off-position, where
the coupler provides fluid communication between the inlet and
outlet units in its on-position and breaks or disrupts at least a
portion of such fluid communication therebetween in its
off-position. Further details of such coupling members will be
described below in conjunction with FIGS. 5A to 5C and 6A to
6C.
[0110] Various members and/or their units of such a ventilation
system may also be modularized and detachably coupled to each other
such that they may be readily replaced and/or refilled. For
example, a modular pump member may be readily replaced by a new
member, while various auxiliary members may be disposed and
replaced by new ones and/or refilled and put back for further use.
In particular, the filter, dehydration, and/or air treatment
members may be constructed as disposable articles so that the user
may disengage and discard the used members and load new ones.
Alternatively, such filter, dehydration, and/or air treatment
members may also include cartridges and/or bags filled with various
active ingredients for removing the odorous substances and/or
moisture and/or for adding fragrance into an air stream passing
therethrough, where used cartridges and/or bags may be replaced by
new cartridges and/or bags. Moreover, the filter or dehydration
members may be formed as regeneratable articles which may be
reactivated by, e.g., heating, drying, and/or other conventional
methods known in the art.
[0111] In general, disposition of various members of the toilet
ventilation system is a matter of choice of one of ordinary skill
in the art. It is, however, preferred that the air treatment member
be disposed in a downstream of the filter member such that the
fragrant substances are not removed by the active ingredients in
the filter member and the dehydration member be disposed in an
upstream of the pump and/or filter members to avoid degradation of
the pump and/or filter members and to prolong the life of such
members. When desirable, at least one bypass air path may be
provided around one or more of such auxiliary members to transport
the odorous air without transporting therethrough. For example, a
bypass air path may be provided around the filter member and a
selector such as a three-way valve is disposed to allow the user to
select whether the air taken from the toilet cavity may pass
through or bypass the filter member. Such a selector may be
manipulated manually by the user and/or controlled by the control
member which may detect whether the use defecates, urinates or
otherwise uses the toilet and may selectively turn on the pump
member and/or pass the air inside the toilet cavity through the
filter member only when the user defecates. A similar bypass air
path and selector may also be provided to the dehydration and/or
air treatment members in order to remove moisture and/or to add
various substances to the air flowing therethrough. It is
appreciated that the bypass air paths may be provided as additional
air paths external to those of the inlet and/or other units of the
airway member or may be disposed inside such units as well. Instead
of the above bypass air paths and selectors, a blocker may be
disposed in such a member and arranged to allow or prevent the
active ingredients to contact the air flowing therethrough.
Therefore, when it is not necessary or desirable to flow the air
through such a member, the blocker may be moved to its off-position
to prevent contact between the air and active ingredients inside
the member. Conversely, the user may move the blocker back to its
on-position to flow the air through such a member.
[0112] The ventilation system may further include multiple airway
members, multiple inlet and/or outlet units thereof, multiple
coupling members, and/or multiple pump members which may be
connected to each other in a parallel and/or series arrangement. In
such an embodiment, multiple air paths may be provided along the
ventilation system and one or more coupling and/or pump members may
have to be installed in order to effectively move the odorous air
from the toilet cavity to an exit through multiple air paths. Other
configurational and/or operational characteristics of the
ventilation system with multiple airway, coupling, and/or pump
members are generally similar to those of the system including a
single airway, coupling, and/or pump members, except that the
former may provide a redundant arrangement to increase the
efficiency of removing the odorous air and to provide an alternate
operation capability in case one of such members may
malfunction.
[0113] It is to be understood that the pump member described
hereinabove is typically a suction pump which is arranged to
develop a negative pressure gradient along the inlet unit so that
the contaminated air inside the toilet cavity may be sucked through
the inlet openings, transported through the inlet unit, and
discharged through the outlet opening of the outlet unit to an
exit. Therefore, such a suction pump may preferably be disposed to
form a portion of the air path. The pump member may instead include
a blower-type pump which is generally arranged to transport air
from one to the other side thereof and, accordingly, has different
operational characteristics. Such a blower-type pump may be
disposed to form a portion of the air path similar to the suction
pump. Alternatively, the blower-type pump may be arranged to serve
as an aspirator arranged to suck the odorous air by the Bernoulli
principle. Thus, the blower-type pump may take in air not from the
toilet cavity but from the bathroom and to flow such air through a
nozzle with an aperture in fluid communication with the toilet
cavity, thereby sucking the odorous from the toilet cavity by a low
pressure developed near the aperture of the nozzle. Selection
between the suction and blow-type pumps is a matter of choice of
one of ordinary skill in the art who may consider different
operational characteristics of such pumps examples of which may
include, but not be limited to, their pumping capacities, power
requirements, noises, and the like.
[0114] The coupling members of the ventilation system may be
provided in a variety of arrangements. As described hereinabove,
detailed configurations of the coupling members may be governed by
the configurational and/or operational characteristics of the
airway member of such a system and/or the implementation modes of
such a system into various parts of the toilet. Following FIGS. 5A
to 5C and 6A to 6C show a few exemplary coupling members of the
present invention in which at least a portion of the ventilation
system is embedded into, detachably coupled to, and/or fixedly
coupled to at least a portion of the toilet.
[0115] In one aspect of the present invention, a coupling member
may be arranged to operate or move between at least one on-position
(or closed state) and at least one off-position (or open state),
where the coupling member may be arranged to provide fluid
communication between at least two units of an airway member in the
on-position and to break or disrupt at least a portion of such
fluid communication in the off-position. FIG. 5A shows a schematic
diagram of an exemplary ventilation system including an airway
member fixedly incorporated into a toilet seat and toilet lid and
coupled to each other by an exemplary coupling member capable of
providing and disrupting fluid communication between multiple parts
of the airway member according to the present invention. An
exemplary ventilation system 100 includes an airway member 200 of
which an inlet unit 210 and a first channel unit 230 are detachably
coupled to, fixedly coupled to or embedded into a toilet seat 50
and of which a second channel unit 240 and an outlet unit 250 are
detachably coupled to, fixedly coupled to or embedded into the
toilet lid 60. For simplicity of illustration, the toilet seat 50
and toilet lid 60 are shown detached from each other. The toilet
seat 50 may be movably or rotatably coupled to the toilet base 20
(not shown in the figure) by a hinge 52 (shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C)
and pivot thereabout between at least one (relatively) flat seat
position and at least one (relatively) vertical seat position. The
toilet lid 60 may also be pivotally coupled to the toilet base 20
or toilet seat 50 by a hinge 52 and arranged to rotate or pivot
toward and away from the toilet base 20 and toilet seat 50 between
at least one (relatively) flat lid position and at least one
(relatively) vertical lid position. As shown in the figure, the
inlet unit 210 is similar to those of FIGS. 4A and 4C and includes
an inlet body 211 and multiple inlet openings 212 provided along
the inlet body 211 at a preset interval and angularly disposed to
be oriented toward a center aperture 51 of the toilet seat 50. More
particularly, the inlet body 211 may be embedded into the toilet
seat 50 or fixedly and/or detachably coupled thereto. The outlet
unit 250 is similar to those of FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4D, has an outlet
body 251 in which a pump member and/or other auxiliary members are
fixedly or disposably disposed, and defines an outlet opening 252
through which the filtered odorous air may be dispensed. More
particularly, the outlet body 251 may be embedded into or fixedly
and/or detachably coupled to the toilet lid 60. In such an
embodiment, at least a portion of the outlet body 251 is exposed
through a bottom of the toilet lid 60, the rest of the outlet body
251 is exposed through a top of the toilet lid 60, and the outlet
opening 252 is provided through the toilet lid 60 to be open to the
atmosphere through a front of the toilet lid 60.
[0116] The ventilation system 100 also includes a coupling unit 300
arranged to connect a proximal or downstream end of the inlet unit
210 with a distal or upstream end of the outlet unit 250. The
coupling member 300 may include multiple units such as, e.g., a
first coupler unit 310 and a second coupler unit 320. The first
coupler unit 310 is fixedly or detachably to a first outlet end 232
of a first channel unit 230 which is in turn fixedly or detachably
coupled to the toilet seat 50, while the second coupler unit 320 to
is fixedly or detachably coupled to a second inlet end 241 of a
second channel unit 240 which is in turn fixedly or detachably
coupled to the toilet lid 60. The first and second coupler units
310, 320 are arranged to pivot toward and away from each other in
response to movements and/or rotations of the toilet seat 50 and/or
toilet lid 60. By providing appropriate configurations, the first
coupler unit 310 may be arranged to fluidly connect with or
disconnect from the second coupler unit 320. For example and as
will be further explained in FIGS. 4B and 4C, the first and second
coupler units 310, 320 may be arranged to render the coupling unit
300 to be in its on- and off-positions when they are rotated to or
disposed at certain positions and/or when they are rotated to form
certain angles therebetween.
[0117] FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the ventilation system
along the line A-A of FIG. 5A when the coupling member is moved to
or disposed in its on-position, while FIG. 5C is a cross-sectional
view of the same ventilation system along the line A-A of FIG. 5A
when the coupling member is moved to or disposed in its
off-position according to the present invention. The first and/or
second coupler units 310, 320 may be arranged to form at their ends
respectively at least one first elongated structure and at least
one second elongated structure, and respectively define therein at
least one first air pathway 311 and at least one second air pathway
321. By moving or pivoting the toilet seat 50 and/or toilet lid 60
about the hinge 52, the first and second coupler units 310, 320
move or rotate toward and away from the other thereof along a
substantially curvilinear, e.g., an arcuate trajectory.
Accordingly, when the coupling member 300 is rotated to its
on-position, the first and second air pathways 311, 321 may be
coupled to each other, the elongated structures of the first and
second coupler units 310, 320 may also be fluidly connected to each
other, and the inlet unit 210 becomes in fluid communication with
the outlet unit 250 of airway member 200. Accordingly, a pump
member 400 may be able to draw air from the toilet cavity 21 and to
discharge such air through the outlet unit 250. It is appreciated
that such an on-position may correspond to the positions where the
toilet seat 50 may move to or be disposed at or near its flat seat
position, where the toilet lid 60 may move to or be disposed at or
near its vertical lid position, and so on. In the alternative, the
on-position may correspond to the positions where the toilet seat
50 and toilet lid 60 may form a threshold angle therebetween, where
such a threshold angle may be greater than, e.g., 60 degrees
(preferably 90 degrees) or greater, where the threshold angle may
be in a range of, e.g., 60 degrees to 180 degrees. Conversely, as
the coupling member 300 is rotated to its off-position, the
elongated structures of the first and second coupler units 310, 320
move away or uncouple from each other, which in turn destroys or
disrupts at least a portion of fluid connection between the first
and second air pathways 311, 321 may be uncoupled from each other.
Therefore, the fluid communication between the inlet and outlet
units 210, 250 of airway member 200 may also be destroyed or
disrupted and the pump member 400, even though it may operate in
its full capacity, may not be able to draw air from the toilet
cavity 21. It is appreciated that the off-position may correspond
to such positions where the toilet seat 50 moves to or is disposed
at or near its vertical seat position, where the toilet lid 60
moves to or is disposed at or near its flat lid position, and the
like. Alternatively, the off-position may correspond to the
positions where the toilet seat 50 and toilet lid 60 may form an
angle less than the above threshold angle or outside of the range
of such a threshold angle. It is to be understood that the coupling
member 300 may be moved to or disposed in its on- and off-positions
in different arrangements of the toilet seat 50 and/or toilet lid
60. For example, the coupling member 300 may be arranged to be in
its on-position as long as the toilet seat and/or lid 50, 60 may be
disposed to allow the user to use the toilet and, conversely, the
coupling member 300 may be arranged to be in its off-position as
long as the toilet seat and/or lid 50, 60 may be covered to deter
the user from using the toilet. By the same token, when the toilet
do s not include the toilet lid, the coupling member 300 may be
arranged to move between its on- and off-position solely based on
the movement of the toilet seat 50 between its flat and vertical
seat positions respectively.
[0118] Contrary to the ventilation system of the foregoing aspect
of this invention including a coupling member whose different units
are arranged to attach to and detach from each other so as to form
and destroy the fluid communication therebetween, the ventilation
system based on another aspect of the present invention may instead
include a coupling member whose different units are movably
disposed to form a constant contact therebetween but arranged to
form and/or destroy the fluid communication therebetween by
respectively aligning and/or misaligning such units. Such a
coupling member may be arranged to operate or move between at least
one on-position (or closed state) and at least one off-position (or
open state) in order to provide the fluid communication between at
least two units of an airway member in the on-position and to break
or disrupt at least a portion of such fluid communication in the
off-position. FIG. 6A shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary
ventilation system including an airway member fixedly incorporated
into a toilet seat and lid and coupled to each other by another
exemplary coupling member according to the present invention. An
exemplary ventilation system 100 includes an airway member 200 of
which an inlet unit 210 and a first channel unit 230 are detachably
coupled to, fixedly coupled to or embedded into a toilet seat 50
and of which a second channel unit 240 and an outlet unit 250 are
detachably coupled to, fixedly coupled to or embedded into the
toilet lid 60, which are similar or identical to the counterparts
of FIGS. 5A to 5C. For simplicity of illustration, the toilet seat
50 is shown to be detached from the toilet lid 60 and may be
movably or rotatably coupled to a toilet base (not shown in the
figure) by a hinge (not shown in the figure) and pivot between at
least one (relatively) flat seat position and at least one
(relatively) vertical seat position. The toilet lid 60 may also be
pivotally coupled to the toilet base or toilet seat 50 by the hinge
and arranged to rotate or pivot toward and away from the toilet
base and/or the toilet seat 50 between at least one (relatively)
flat lid position and at least one (relatively) vertical lid
position.
[0119] The ventilation system 100 also includes a coupling unit 300
arranged to open and/or to close a fluid communication (or
connection) between a proximal (or downstream) end of the inlet
unit 210 and a distal (or upstream) end of the outlet unit 250. The
coupling member 300 includes multiple units such as a first coupler
unit 310 and a second coupler unit 320, where the first coupler
unit 310 is fixedly or detachably coupled to a proximal (or
downstream) end of the first channel unit 230, while the second
coupler unit 320 is fixedly or detachably coupled to a distal (or
upstream) end of the second channel unit 240. In addition, the
first and second coupler units 310, 320 are arranged to define
respectively a first opening 312 and a second opening 322, and also
to movably or rotatably disposed with respect to each other by,
e.g., movably or rotatably disposing at least a portion of such a
first coupler unit 310 inside at least a portion of the second
coupler unit 320. By providing appropriate configurations, the
coupling member 300 may be arranged to open (or close) a fluid
communication between the inlet and outlet units 210, 250 by moving
at least one of the coupler units 310, 320 between its on-position
and off-position and aligning (or misaligning) the first and second
openings 312, 322, thereby opening (or closing) a fluid
communication formed between such coupler units 310, 320. As will
be explained in detail in FIGS. 6B and 6C, the first and second
coupler units 310, 320 may be arranged to move to or to be in their
on- and off-positions when they are rotated to or disposed at
certain positions and/or when they are rotated to form certain
angles therebetween.
[0120] FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view of the ventilation system
along the line B-B of FIG. 6A when the coupling member is moved to
or disposed in its on-position and FIG. 6C is another
cross-sectional view of the ventilation system along the line B-B
of FIG. 6A when the coupling member is moved to or disposed in its
off-position according to the present invention. In this exemplary
embodiment, the first and second coupler units 310, 320 are shaped
as hollow cylinders forming arcuate surfaces thereon, where an
outer diameter of the first coupler unit 310 may be slightly less
than an inner diameter of the second coupler unit 320 such that an
outer arcuate surface of the first coupler unit 310 may match an
inner arcuate surface of the second coupler unit 320. In addition,
the second coupler unit 320 defines an aperture for receiving the
first coupler unit 310 therein to allow movement (or rotation) of
the first coupler unit 310, while orienting the first opening 312
of the first coupler unit 310 to oppose or to face the second
opening 322 of the second coupler unit 320. In particular, such
first and second openings 312, 322 are arranged to be in fluid
communication when the coupling member 300 may be disposed in or
moved to its on-position so as to define an air pathway which
starts from the inlet opening 212 and terminates at the outlet
opening 252 and to allow the pump member to transport the odorous
air out of the toilet cavity to the exit. It is appreciated that
the on-position of such coupling member 300 and/or its coupler
units 310, 320 corresponds to any of those described in conjunction
with FIGS. 5A to 5C. Conversely, when at least one of the coupler
units 310, 320 rotates with respect to the other thereof to move
the coupling member 300 to its off-position, opposing arcuate
surfaces of such coupler units 310, 320 slide over each other. This
movement results in a partial or total misalignment between the
first and second openings 312, 322 of the coupler units 310, 320
and destroys at least a portion of the fluid connection between the
first and second coupler units 310, 320. Thus, the fluid
communication between the inlet and outlet units 210, 250 of the
airway member 200 may be disrupted or destroyed, and the pump
member 400, even though it may operate in its full capacity, may
not be able to draw air from the toilet cavity 21. It is
appreciated that the off-position of such coupling member 300
and/or its coupler units 310, 320 corresponds to any of those
described in conjunction with FIGS. 5A to 5C.
[0121] Configurational and/or operational variations and/or
modifications of the foregoing exemplary coupling members and
couplers thereof which have been discussed hereinabove and which
will be described heretofore also fall within the scope of this
invention.
[0122] First, the coupling member may be modified or altered in
various ways to facilitate formation of airtight communication with
the inlet and/or outlet units of the airway member, with the
channel units of the airway member, and/or between its coupler
units in its on-position. For example, the coupler units may be
shaped and/or sized to be movably, releasably or detachably
inserted into each other, thereby forming an airtight fluid
communication therebetween when the coupling member is in the
on-position. The coupler units may have a tapered structure, a
leak-proof structure, and/or a sealing article such as a flexible
O-ring to form the airtight sealing therebetween. One or more
magnets may be disposed on the coupler units to facilitate their
orientation and/or formation of airtight sealing therebetween. For
example, the magnets with opposite polarities may be disposed on
opposing surfaces of such coupler units. When the toilet seat
and/or lid may be positioned in or moved to place the coupling
member in its on-position, attractive magnetic force exerted
between the magnets may guide the above elongated or arcuate
structures of the coupler units to align and orient themselves
along a predetermined coupling direction. When the coupler units
get close to each other, the attractive magnetic force couples the
elongated and/or arcuate structures of the coupler units and forms
airtight connection therebetween. A lock may be provided to
releasably lock the coupler units to the channel units, inlet unit,
and/or outlet units, while a releaser may be provided to unlock the
locking unit. The coupler units may also include a flexible or
retractable structure in its elongated and/or arcuate portions to
allow movement, rotation or translation thereof once a proper fluid
communication is formed therebetween, thereby preventing the
elongated and/or arcuate portions from being subjected to an
excessive mechanical stress due to excessive motion or rotation of
the toilet seat and/or lid.
[0123] The coupling member may also be arranged to couple and
uncouple the inlet and outlet units of the airway member when the
toilet seat and/or lid may be arranged to pivot about different
centers of rotation. For example, instead of pivotally connecting
the toilet seat and lid to the toilet base through a single hinge,
multiple hinges may be provided so that the toilet seat and lid may
pivot about the hinges disposed at different locations. Since such
hinges enable the toilet seat and lid to pivot about different
centers of rotation, the channel units may have to rotate toward
and away from each other along two different curvilinear, e.g.,
arcuate trajectories, or may have to rotate about different axes of
rotation. This arrangement allows the coupler units to be disposed
at various locations around the toilet seat or lid, while
accomplishing the same function as the ones pivoting about a single
center of rotation. This arrangement also enables the coupling
member to be disposed in the off- and on-positions when the toilet
seat and lid may be disposed at or near various flat and/or
vertical positions. Furthermore, this arrangement provides more
space between the toilet seat and lid, thereby allowing easier
installation or incorporation of the ventilation system to the
toilet.
[0124] The coupling member may also be arranged to have other
configurations while performing the substantially similar functions
as those described hereinabove. In one example, the coupling member
may have a bellow-type structure which may bend in response to a
movement of toilet seat and/or lid, coupler units, and/or upstream
and downstream portions of the airway member while maintaining the
fluid communication between two opposing ends of the coupling
member at the same time. In another example, the coupling member
may include a flexible article which is arranged to bend or to
deform in response to such a movement but not to collapse
substantially when the coupling member is in the on-position. In
the above embodiments, such a bellow and flexible article may bend
or otherwise deform in any desirable direction, e.g., bending along
arcuate paths, translating horizontally or vertically, and the
like. In addition, the cross-sectional areas and/or shapes of the
bellow and/or flexible article may be preferably arranged to
satisfy various criteria described hereinabove. When the coupling
member includes multiple coupler units which can be aligned and
misaligned according to the above movement to form and to disrupt
the fluid communication therethrough, such couplers may further be
arranged to have other configurations while performing the
substantially similar or identical functions as described
hereinabove. In one example, the couplers may form matching
spherical surfaces so that one of such coupler units may move,
rotate, and/or pivot about the other of such couplers. In another
example, the coupler units with the foregoing arcuate and/or
spherical surfaces may also be arranged to translate to form and
disrupt the fluid communication therebetween. In any of the above
embodiments, it is not critical which coupler may be movably
disposed inside the other coupler. The coupling member may have
other configurations as long as they can perform the foregoing
functions and meet the foregoing criteria. The above embodiments
may also be applied to the airway member when such a member is
arranged to fluidly connect the toilet cavity and the exit for the
odorous air therethrough. Accordingly, at least a portion of the
airway member may be arranged to include a bellow or to bend to
maintain the fluid communication therethrough while accommodating
the foregoing movements.
[0125] The coupling member may also be arranged to block at least a
portion of its air pathway and/or the air pathway of the airway
member when the coupling member is not disposed in its on-position.
In one example, a damper may be incorporated along such an air
pathway to block at least a portion of its cross-section thereof.
Examples of such a damper may include, but not be limited to, a
valve, flap, and other conventional dampers known in the relevant
art. This embodiment is advantageous to block moisture from
entering the airway member when the ventilation system is not in
use and/or to prevent water from entering thereinto during cleaning
of the toilet.
[0126] The inlet units of the airway member may also be arranged in
various embodiments as long as they meet various requirements
described hereinabove. For example, FIG. 7A is a schematic diagram
of an exemplary inlet unit of an airway member of a toilet
ventilation system according to the present invention. An inlet
unit 210 includes an inlet body 211 at least a portion of which
defines multiple inlet openings 212 therealong. The inlet body 211
is generally arranged to have a shape and/or size which may conform
to that of the toilet seat 50 in an extent that at least a portion
of the inlet body 211 may be embedded into, fixedly coupled to,
movably coupled to, and/or detachably coupled to at least a portion
of the toilet seat 50. A downstream end 213 of the inlet body 211
may be shaped and sized to form an appropriate coupling with a
downstream portion of the airway member such as the channel unit or
outlet unit of the airway member. The inlet openings 212 may be
arranged to be in fluid communication with air in the toilet cavity
21 of the toilet base 20. Although exact orientations and/or
directions of the inlet openings 212 may not critically affect
performance of the ventilation system, it is preferred that at
least a portion of the inlet openings 212 be arranged horizontally
and, more preferably, facing along a direction which may prevent
the contaminated water in the toilet cavity 21 from splashing and
entering the interior of the inlet openings 212 and may also block
water from entering thereinto while cleaning the toilet seat
50.
[0127] It is noted that the inlet body 211 and/or inlet openings
212 may be arranged to have a variety of shapes and sizes as long
as they may perform the functions described hereinabove.
Accordingly, selection of dimensions, shapes, materials, and/or
mechanical properties of the inlet body 211 may be generally a
matter of choice of one of ordinary skill in the art. Similarly, a
number, dimensions, shapes, positions, arrangements, and/or
orientations of the inlet openings 212 also fall within a similar
design choice of one of ordinary skill in the art. In particular,
the inlet body 211 and inlet openings 212 may be arranged such that
a total cross-sectional area of the inlet body 211 and/or inlet
openings 212 may be greater than or at least substantially similar
to that of other portions of the airway member. Such an embodiment
may ensure that the inlet body 211 and/or inlet openings 212 may
not constitute zones of high resistance to air flow.
[0128] It is appreciated that the inlet openings 212 may be
arranged to have configurations which may optimize suction of air
inside the toil t cavity 21. For example, when an user sits on the
toilet seat 50, lateral sides 214 of the toilet seat 50 are
generally covered by the user's buttock and do not constitute major
zones of escape routes for the contaminated air inside the toilet
cavity 21. Therefore, the inlet openings 212 may be preferentially
provided in a front 215 and/or rear 216 thereof than the sides 214.
In the alternative, the inlet openings 212 disposed in the front
215 and/or rear 216 may be arranged to have greater cross-sectional
areas than those disposed at the sides 214. In another alternative,
the inlet openings 212 having substantially identical shapes and
cross-sectional areas may be disposed in a preset pattern along the
inner body 211 and the user may be allowed to close or open the
selected openings 212 of his or her choice. Such an embodiment may
allow customization of the inlet unit 210 according to user's needs
and based on precise geometrical characteristics of his or her
toilet.
[0129] The inlet unit 210 may include one or more air guards
provided in the gap formed between the toilet base 20 and seat 50
and/or between the toilet base 20 and various parts of the airway
member which may be embedded into, fixedly coupled to, movably
coupled to, and/or detachably coupled to the toilet seat 50. When
the pump member displaces air from the toilet cavity 21, it may be
necessary for external air to flow into the toilet cavity 21
through the gap 54 or through an open space between the toilet seat
50 and user's buttocks and legs. By guiding the air to flow through
these additional air pathways, the odorous air inside the toilet
cavity 21 may be substantially blocked to escape the toilet seat
50. For example, the air guards may be arranged to guide the
external air to flow through at least a significant portion of the
gap toward an interior of the toilet cavity 21 so as to force the
odorous air toward and into the inlet unit 210. Alternatively, the
external air may be positively pumped into or the odorous air may
be recycled into the toilet cavity 21 for this purpose as well.
[0130] The inlet units of the airway member may further be arranged
to adaptively vary air pathways defined therealong. For example,
FIG. 7B shows a schematic diagram of another exemplary inlet unit
of an airway member of another ventilation system according to the
present invention, where such an inlet unit 210 is similar to that
shown in FIG. 7A but embedded inside a toilet seat 50. A main
feature of such an embodiment is that hydraulic resistances of
inlet body 211 and/or inlet openings 212) may be adaptively
adjusted such that some inlet openings may take in larger amounts
of the odorous air from the toilet cavity 21 than others. In
general, not all inlet openings 212 need to suck the identical
amount of the odorous air. For example, because thighs and lower
parts of buttocks of the user are generally disposed along lateral
portions of the toilet seat 50, they may substantially block the
odorous air from the toilet cavity 21 and block atmospheric air
from getting into the toilet cavity 21. In contrary, most of front
and rear portions of toilet seat 50 is not covered by the user's
body and, accordingly, constitute majors route for the odorous air
escaping from and/or atmospheric air enter the toilet cavity 21.
Such spatial variation in suction requirement along inlet body 211
may also be complicated by a size, sitting habit, and/or physical
characteristics of different users.
[0131] The embodiment shown in the figure incorporates the toilet
seat 50 and airway member 200 at least a portion of which may be
made of compliant or flexible material to vary its cross-sectional
areas in response to an external force of a weight of an user
exerted thereon. The left panel shown in FIG. 7B describes an
exemplary toilet seat 50 which is incorporated with the inlet unit
100 of the airway member 200, while the right panels represent
cross-sectional views of the toilet seat 50 drawn along lines A-A,
B-B, C-C, and D-D of the left panel. When the user sits on the
toilet seat 50, some portions of the toilet seat 50 may be applied
with greater external forces than others, and collapse accordingly.
This generally results in reduction of cross-sectional areas 55 of
such portions, increases resistance to air flow, and decreases air
suction therethrough. Accordingly, such an arrangement may
distribute its ventilation capacity among the inlet openings 212
according to their needs and allow an attainment of optimal suction
of the odorous air.
[0132] Deformation of a portion of the flexible inlet unit 210,
however, may lead to complete occlusion thereof. Accordingly, only
the upper portions of toilet seat 50 may be made of compliant
material and the rest of the inlet unit 210 may be made of
compliant materials which has a minimum rigidity enough to prevent
complete occlusion thereof. In addition, because the user's weight
is usually centered on the lateral portion of the toilet seat 50,
such a weight distribution may result in deformation of the toilet
seat 50 and at least a partial occlusion of the inlet openings 212
embedded thereat, e.g., most around the regions A-A and B-B, and
least at the front and rear portions C-C and D-D. Due to the
changes in cross-sectional areas adjacent to the inlet openings
212, the resistances to air flow associated with each inlet opening
212 of the air pathway 200 are adaptively adjusted in reverse
relationship with the applied weight. Accordingly, the ventilation
capacity of the ventilation system 100 may be adaptively adjusted
according to the spatial distribution of the ventilation load.
[0133] It is appreciated that a partial occlusion of a portion of
the inlet unit 210 may adversely affect the suction capacities of
other portions of the inlet unit 210 disposed in its downstream.
Accordingly, the inlet unit 210 may be constructed that each inlet
opening 212 may be in fluid communication with a downstream end of
the inlet unit 210 through different air pathways. In addition,
such air pathways may be preferably constructed so that each air
pathway may be arranged to be collapsible in a region adjacent to
its corresponding inlet opening 212 and may not be collapsible in
other regions therealong.
[0134] Configurational and/or operational variations and/or
modifications of the above members and/or their units of the
ventilation system of the present invention which have been
discussed hereinabove and which will be described heretofore also
fall within the scope of this invention.
[0135] The foregoing outlet units of the airway member may be
provided in a variety of embodiments. For example, the outlet unit
may be arranged to be in fluid communication with a preexisting
vent of the bathroom so that the odorous air may be exhausted
therethrough. When the bathroom does not have a vent, the outlet
unit may extend to be in fluid communication with atmosphere by
penetrating through a bathroom wall. In such embodiments, at least
one damper or flap may also be disposed in the outlet opening or
along the outlet unit in order to prevent humid and/or cold
atmospheric air from entering the bathroom through. When the
ventilation system is arranged to process the odorous air and to
remove the odor-generating substances therefrom, the outlet opening
of the outlet unit may be arranged to be open to the bathroom in
order to recycle the processed air thereinto. The outlet unit may
be coupled to various stationary or movable parts of the toilet.
For example, at least a portion of the outlet unit may be embedded
into, fixedly coupled to, movably coupled to, and/or detachably
coupled to at least on of the toilet seat, toilet lid, toilet base,
water reservoir, and so on. When desirable, the outlet unit may be
similarly coupled to a bathroom wall, ceiling, floor, and the
like.
[0136] As described hereinabove, the pump member may be fixedly
coupled to, movably coupled to, and/or detachably coupled to
various stationary and/or movable parts of the toilet or, in the
alternative, similarly coupled to the bathroom wall, ceiling,
and/or floor. Such a pump member may be arranged to suck the
odorous air in the toilet cavity by creating a negative pressure
and to transport such to the exit for the odorous air through the
airway member. When desirable, the pump member or an auxiliary
blower may be arranged to blow atmospheric or bathroom air into the
toilet cavity, while sucking the odorous air by the pump member
through the inlet openings of the inlet unit. Such an embodiment
may offer the benefit of arranging the blower or pump member to
direct the atmospheric or bathroom air in a direction to prevent
the odorous air from escaping from the toilet cavity, thereby
facilitating removal of the odorous air from the toilet cavity. The
pump member may typically be disposed adjacent to the airway and/or
coupling members and, therefore, close to various parts of the
toilet. When desirable, the pump member may be disposed outside the
bathroom in order to leave an extra space around the toilet and/or
to reduce noises therefrom. When multiple toilets are arranged to
be ventilated, a single pump member may also be arranged to
ventilate multiple toilets through multiple airway members each of
which is in fluid communication with the toilet cavity of each of
such toilets. Such airway members may be arranged in parallel
and/or in series as long as the pump member may effectively remove
the odorous air from such toilets.
[0137] It is appreciated that the ventilation systems of the
present invention may be incorporated into various toilets and/or
toilet-related articles of commerce. Therefore, such ventilation
systems may be retrofit to existing household and/or commercial
toilets and may be incorporated into new toilets while
manufacturing such. The ventilation systems or various members
and/or units thereof may further be incorporated into various
toilet-related articles examples of which may also include, but not
be limited to, heated toilet seats, hygiene toilet seats capable of
squirting cleaning water toward specific organs of the user, and
the like.
[0138] It is also appreciated that the foregoing figures are
illustrative only and not intended to limit the scope of the
present invention and that the foregoing figures are not drawn to
the scale. Therefore, various members and/or their units of the
ventilation system of the present invention may be provided to have
different shapes and/or sizes, and ratios of length and/or areas
thereof may be different from those appeared in such figures. In
addition, the figures may be construed to be the top views, bottom
views, and/or side views regardless of the foregoing figure
legends, unless such constructions may explicitly conflict
accompanying descriptions of various members and units of the
ventilation system.
[0139] As described herein, the foregoing ventilation systems of
the present invention offer various benefits. First, such
ventilation systems may be constructed as compact articles so that
no members of such systems may have to be disposed external to the
toilet, that only minimum spaces are required to install the
ventilation systems to the toilet, and the like. In addition, such
ventilation systems may be manufactured and/or maintained at low
costs. For example, because all members of such ventilation systems
may to be incorporated into various conventional parts of the
toilet, there is no need to modify at least the stationary parts of
the toilet or to make at least new stationary parts of the toilet
and there may be no need to make holes into various parts of the
toilet. Moreover, such ventilation systems may be arranged to have
the least resistance to air flow while maximizing the
cross-sectional areas of at least a substantial portion of the
airway member. Accordingly, such an airway member will cause a
minimum viscous pressure dissipation and, therefore, the pump
member may need to have a minimum pumping capacity for a given
amount of the odorous air to be removed from the toilet cavity.
Such a pump member, therefore, may generate the least noises
because of its minimum pumping requirement.
[0140] It is to be understood that, while various aspects and
embodiments of the present invention have been described in
conjunction with the detailed description thereof, the foregoing
description is intended to illustrate and not to limit the scope of
the invention, which is defined by the scope of the appended
claims. Other embodiments, aspects, advantages, and modifications
are within the scope of the following claims.
* * * * *