GB2143872A

GB2143872A - Ventilating W.C. pans

Info

Publication number: GB2143872A
Application number: GB08320095A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Headley Billing
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1983-07-26
Filing date: 1983-07-26
Publication date: 1985-02-20
Also published as: GB8320095D0

Abstract

In order to extract foul air directly from the pan, a W.C. seat 1 is formed with a pair of arcuate internal ducts 6 having downwardly-open inlet apertures, the ducts 6 communicating through passages 16 and respective hollow hinge pins 18 with pipework leading to an extractor fan for discharge either to the exterior or to a filter. The fan may be actuated by a seat switch and a timer. The seat has on its underside a peripheral seal 19 which engages the pan and is gapped at 20 to provide an air inlet. Three forms at hollow hinge construction 10a, 10b, 10b are illustrated. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Apparatus for use in connection with a water closet THIS INVENTION relates to apparatus for use in connection with a water closet (WC). More particularly the invention relates to apparatus for extracting undesirable odours from the vicinity of a WC.

Modern WC's include a water trap that effectively seals the open bowl of the pan from the drainage system. Such a water trap copes adequately to prevent odours from the drainage system from leaking into a bathroom or lavatory but are ineffective against odorous vapours that collect in the bowl portion of the pan during use. Many people, used to modern standards of hygiene, find such odours disturbing. The presence of such odours may be particularly disturbing in "en-suite" situations and in bungalows and family houses having only one lavatory.

Whilst it is known to provide extractor fans in the windows or walls of rooms containing a WC to remove odours, such fans are relatively slow acting and only partially cure rather than prevent the problems caused by odours.

The aim of the present invention is to provide apparatus for use in connection with a WC that will at least mitigate the problems associated with undesirable odours.

Thus, the invention provides apparatus for use in connection with a WC, comprising a seat unit adapted to fit closely over an open bowl of a WC, an underside of the seat unit having a perforate air flow channel communicating with the open bowl of the WC and connected to suitable extractor means.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood, and so that further features thereof may be appreciated, embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematic representation of an apparatus in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the apparatus of Fig. 1 and illustrates three alternative hinge mechanisms suitable for use with apparatus of the invention; Figures 3 and 4 illustrate parts of the apparatus of Fig. 2 in greater detail; Figure 5 is a sectional view through one of the hinges shown in Fig. 2; Figure 6 is a perspective view illustrating apparatus of the invention installed using the hinge illustrated in Fig. 5, Figure 7 is a perspective view of apparatus of the invention installed using another of the hinges of Fig. 2; and Figure 8 is a perspective view of apparatus of the invention installed using yet another of the hinges of Fig. 2.

In order to enable rapid removal of odours from the bowl of a WC, apparatus of the invention provides a vent pathway in the seat of the WC that is connected to suitable extractor means to enable odours to be removed directly from the area of the WC. The extractor means may be operated during and/or immediately following use of the WC.

As shown in Fig. 1 the apparatus comprises a seat unit 1 that is adapted to co-operate with a WC 2. The seat 1 is shaped to correspond with the shape of an upper rim 3 that defines an open mouth 4 of a bowl 5 of the WC 2. As will be discussed in greater detail hereinbelow, a pair of ducts 6 are provided in an underside 7 of the seat unit 1. The ducts 6 are adapted to communicate with the interior of the bowl 5 by way of a plurality of spaced apart vents 8.

The seat unit 1 is connected to a rear portion 9 of the WC 2 by a pair of hinges 10.

The hinges 10 are hollowed to provide a pathway interconnecting a respective duct 6 with an outlet or outlets 11. As will be described further, a suitable form of hinge 10 can be selected depending upon the construction of the WC 2 to which the apparatus is to be fitted. The WC illustrated in Fig. 1 has been specially adapted for use with the apparatus of the invention by having outlet ducting cast into the rear portion 9 of the WC.

As best seen in Figs. 6, 7 and 8, the outlet 11 is connected to the inlet side 1 2 of a suction pump 13, the outlet 14 of the pump 1 3 being plumbed either to a suitable filer mechanism (not shown) or directly to the outside of a building.

Fig. 2 illustrates the arrangement of the ducts 6 in the underside 7 of the seat unit 1 and illustrates the co-operation of the seat unit 1 with each of three alternative hinges 10.

The seat unit 1 has a generally elliptical opening 1 5 to allow access to the interior of the bowl 5 when the seat is in a closed position. The ducts 6 are arranged on opposite sides of the major axis of the elliptical opening 15, the ducts being shaped to correspond approximately to the profile of the opening 1 5 and each having a length slightly less than half of the circumference of the elliptical opening 1 5. A pair of passageways 1 6 connect rear ends 1 7 of the ducts 6 to tubular pivot elements 1 8 provided at the rear of the seat unit 1. As will be described further below, the pivot elements 1 8 are adapted to co-operate with the selected hinge 10.

A seal 1 9 is provided on the underside 7 of the seat unit 1. The seal is shaped to correspond with the shape of the seat unit 1 and provides for a substantially airtight seal between the rim 3 of the bowl 5 and the underneath side 7 of the seat 1 when the seat is in its closed position. A vent 20 is provided in the seal at a front end 21 of the seat unit 1 to allow influx of fresh air when the apparatus is operated. As best seen in Fig. 3, the seal 1 9 also serves to raise the underside of the seat 1 slightly above the rim 3 of the bowl 5 and thus ensures that the vents 8 remain unobstructed when the seat unit is closed upon the rim 3.

As shown in Figs. 2, 5 and 6, the apparatus may be installed using a pair of hinges 1 ova. Each hinge 1 Oa comprises a pivot-receiving section 22 that is adapted to receive a pivot element 18, and an anchor section 23, that is perpendicular to the pivot-receiving section 22 and is adapted to pass through the rear portion 9 of the WC 2 and to be secured thereto.

As best seen in Figs. 2 and 5, a lower outer portion 24 of the anchor section 23 is screwthreaded to receive a bolt 25. A passageway 26 is formed through the sections 22 and 23 of the hinge 1 Oa to form a continuous pathway between the passages 1 6 and an outlet duct 11 that is adapted to be connected to the lower portion 24 of the hinge 1 ova. The passage 26 has a stepped profile to receive the pivot element 1 8 such that a close fit is achieved between the pivot element and the pivot receiving section 22 of the hinge 1 ova, the bore of the element 1 8 being substantially the same as the bore of the reduced diameter portion of the passageway 26.The hinge 1 Oa is particularly suitable for use when the apparatus is connected to an existing WC in which existing hinge receiving holes in the rear portion 9 of the WC are of a size large enough to receive the ducted hinge 1 Oa. Preferably the hinge is integrally formed from a suitable, non-corrosive plastics material or from any other suitable material.

A suitable seal, for example an "0"-ring seal 1 8a is desirably provided between the pivot element 1 8 and the pivot-receiving section 23.

As shown in Fig. 6, use of hinges 10a enables the outlet ducts 11 to be arranged beneath and to the rear of the WC 2, the ducts 11 preferably being merged to form a single outlet duct that is connected to the pump 13.

Where the hinge receiving holes in an existing WC are not sufficiently large to receive the hinge 1 Oa an alternative hinge lOb may be used.

As best seen in Fig. 2, the hinge lOb comprises a pivot-receiving portion 27, that is adapted to receive a pivot element 18, a perpendicular anchor portion 28 for securing the hinge to the WC and an outlet 29 that is perpendicular to and planar with the pivotreceiving portion 27. In this arrangement a continuous passageway is formed within the pivot-receiving portion 27 and the outlet 29 to connect the passageway 1 6 with the outlet duct 11.

As best seen in Fig. 7, in an arrangement using hinges 1 Ob the outlet ducts 11 pass to the rear of the WC at a level above the level of the seat unit 1 and again combine to form a single outlet duct 11 connected to a pump 13.

Referring again to Figs. 1 and 2, a third alternative form of hinge 10c is illustrated.

The hinge 10c is intended for use with a WC 2 that has been specifically adapted for use with the apparatus of the invention in which a suitable ducting is preformed within the WC 2 to connect an outlet 30 of the hinge 10c to the outlet duct 11. The construction of hinge 10c is similar to that of hinge 1 Oa and comprises a pivot-receiving section 31 and a perpendicular anchor section 32.The anchor section 32 comprises a lower portion 33 that is screwthreaded, to facilitate securing of the hinge 10c to the WC, and an upper tubular section 34, that has a transverse opening 30 to co-operate with a passage in the pivotreceiving portion 31 to provide a pathway between the passages 1 6 of the seat unit 1 and the preformed ducts that connect with the outlet duct 11.

Preferably a suitable O-ring seal is provided between the pivot element 1 8 and its respective hinge 10. The seat unit 1 can be rotated from a closed, operative, position adjacent the rim 5 of the WC 2, to an elevated position (not shown) for cleaning.

A switch unit is provided to selectively actuate the pump 1 3 to operate the apparatus. When the pump 1 3 is working, suction via the vents 8 in the ducts 6 causes odorous vapours collecting within the bowl of the WC to pass into the duct 6 and, via the ducting 11 and the pump 13, to the outlet 14. The seal 1 9 ensures that the vapours are drawn into the duct 6 the vent 21 at the front of the seat unit 1 allowing an influx of fresh air to replace air drawn from the bowl 5. Whilst it will be appreciated that only a relatively low operating pressure is required, the outlet circuit preferably incorporates a relief valve mechanism to obviate any risk of a vacuum being developed at the bowl 5.

An alternative switch unit (not shown) could include a pressure switch located under the seat 1 so that the apparatus is actuated automatically when used. Such a pressure actuating switch may be particularly desirable if young children are likely to use the WC as the sensitivity of the pressure switch could be selected to operate the apparatus only above a certain weight, thus avoiding frightening an unwary child.

A timing mechanism could also be incorporated in a switch unit so that the pump operates for a set period of time. A "repeat" start button could also be incorporated if further operation of the apparatus is required.

Claims

1. Apparatus for use in connection with a WC, comprising a seat unit adapted to fit closely over an open bowl of a WC, an underside of the seat unit having a perforate air flow channel communicating with the open bowl of the WC and connected to suitable extractor means.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the flow channel communicates with an outlet duct connected to said extractor means.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said seat is pivotable about a hinge between an open position and a closed position and said flow channel communicates with said outlet duct by way of a passageway passing through said hinge.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1, claim 2 or claim 3, wherein two flow channels are provided on opposed sides of said seat unit.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 when dependent upon claim 3, wherein each said flow channel communicates with an outlet via a respective one of a pair of hinges.

6. Apparatus according to anyone of claims 1 to 5, wheren a seal is provided about at least a portion of the periphery of the underside of the seat unit.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6, wherein at least one vent is provided in said seal to allow flow of air into the bowl during operation of the apparatus.

8. Apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein said extractor means comprises a suction pump.

9. Apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein an outlet of said extractor means is connected to a suitable filter.

10. Apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein an outlet of said extractor means vents directly to the atmosphere externally of a room containing the WC.

11. A WC whenever fitted with apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

1 2. A WC according to claim 11, further comprising at least one preformed outlet duct, adapted to be connected to the flow channel of the seat unit and to said extractor means.

1 3. A WC according to claim 12, wherein said pre-formed outlet duct is connected to said flow channel via a modified hinge mechanism.

1 4. A method of extracting odorous vapour from a WC comprising the steps of providing a perforate air flow channel in a seat unit of a WC, said air flow channel being connected to extractor means; and selectively operating said extractor means to draw vapours from the bowl into said air flow channel and hence to said extractor means for exhausting.

1 5. Apparatus substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

1 6. A WC substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

1 7. A method of extracting odorous vapours from a WC, substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 8. Any novel feature or any novel combination of features described herein.