GB2286976A

GB2286976A - Toilet bowl air filter

Info

Publication number: GB2286976A
Application number: GB9504496A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Alistair Macdonald
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1994-03-05
Filing date: 1995-03-06
Publication date: 1995-09-06
Also published as: GB9504496D0

Abstract

An air filter for a toilet bowl comprises a rechargeable vacuum cleaner 1 mounted on wall support 2. The vacuum cleaner includes a filter chamber 4 filled with activated carbon 8 having an outlet 6 to atmosphere covered by a filter screen 7. Air is drawn through the filter chamber by motorised extractor fan 5 having power supplied either by a low voltage rechargeable battery or by the mains 14. The filter chamber is connected to a conduit 12 having a nozzle 13 located in the gap between the toilet bowl and seat. <IMAGE>

Description

"Air Filterina Apparatus" The invention relates to air filtering apparatus.

A common problem in toilets is ensuring that the air stays fresh.

Various solutions have been proposed to this problem which include installation of extractor fans in toilets to extract air from the toilets and also the use of air fresheners to help absorb smells in a toilet.

However, these previous solutions have only been partially successful in overcoming the problem of smells in toilets.

In accordance with the present invention, air filtering apparatus comprises a chamber containing a filtering medium, the chamber having an inlet and an outlet, means coupled to the outlet for extracting air from the chamber through the outlet, and a conduit coupled at one end to the inlet of the chamber, the other end of the conduit being adapted to be coupled to a toilet bowl.

Preferably, the filtering medium in the chamber may be an absorption or adsorption medium, and is typically activated carbon.

Preferably, air is extracted from the chamber at a sufficiently high rate to cause air to enter the filtering chamber through the conduit coupled to the inlet.

Typically, the means for extracting air from the filter chamber may comprise a fan driven by a motor, such as an electric motor.

Preferably, the electric motor operates on a low voltage which may typically, be less than 100 volts and preferably, the voltage of the electric motor is safe for use in bathrooms. Typically, the motor may be powered by batteries.

Examples of air filtering apparatus in accordance with the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a side view of a first example of filter apparatus when mounted on a wall; Fig. 2 is a front view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1; and, Fig. 3 is cross-sectional view of a second example of filter apparatus.

Fig. 1 shows a first example of air filtering apparatus 1 which comprises a wall mounted support 2 which is mounted on a wall 3. Located on the wall mounted support 2 is a cordless vacuum cleaner which includes a chamber 4 which is coupled to an electric motor 5 by an outlet 6. The opening to the outlet 6 in the chamber 4 is covered by a porous filter screen 7. The chamber 4 is filled with a filtering medium 8, which in this example is activated carbon.

As shown in Fig. 2, an inlet 9 enters the chamber 4 through a side wall and has a screen 10 fixed to its inner end to prevent the activated carbon 8 entering the inlet 9. Coupled to the outside end of the inlet 9 is a flexible conduit 12 and the other end of the flexible conduit 12 is coupled to a nozzle 13 (see Fig.

1).

The electric motor 5 is coupled to an electric power supply via a power cable 14. Typically, the power supply is a standard mains voltage power supply and may include a transformer to reduce the voltage of the electric supply before being supplied to the electric motor 5 via the power cable 14.

Preferably, the apparatus 1 may comprise a conventional re-chargeable vacuum cleaner with the normal nozzle blocked off and a hole cut in the chamber 4 to accept the inlet 10, and a flexible conduit 12 and nozzle 13 coupled to the inlet 10. The apparatus 1 may then be operated using rechargeable batteries or may be wired via a transformer to a conventional mains power supply.

Such an arrangement provides sufficient suction through the conduit 12 that if the nozzle 13 is located adjacent to a toilet bowl, such as in the gap between the toilet bowl and the toilet seat, air will be extracted from the toilet bowl. The extracted air enters the chamber 4 and passes through the activated carbon 8 which removes any smells from the air, prior to being discharged into the atmosphere via the outlet 6.

Fig. 3 shows a second example of air filtering apparatus 20 which comprises a conduit 21 coupled to a filter chamber 22. A fan 23 is located on the opposite side of the filter chamber 22 to the conduit 21. The filter chamber 22 contains a purifying medium which is typically activated carbon granules. Possible dimensions of the apparatus 20 are indicated in Fig. 3.

The conduit 21 comprises a funnel shaped section 24 and the wider section of the funnel section is coupled to the filter chamber 22. The narrower section of the funnel section 24 is bent into a "U" shaped section 26 and has a nozzle 25. The "U" shaped section 26 is configured so that it hooks over the rim of a toilet bowl (not shown). The "U" shaped section may be deformable to permit it to clip on to the rim of a toilet bowl so that it is retained in position.

The fan 23 is powered by an electric motor (not shown) which may be powered by any conventional electric supply. However, the motor is preferably powered by batteries, which may be rechargeable. This would permit the apparatus 20 to be portable.

Such an arrangement provides sufficient suction through the conduit 21 that if the "U" shaped section 26 is hooked over the rim of a toilet bowl such that nozzle 25 is projecting into the toilet bowl, air will be extracted from the toilet bowl. The extracted air enters the filter chamber 22 and passes through the activated carbon which removes any smells from the air, prior to being discharged into the atmosphere via the fan 23.

Modifications and improvements may be incorporated without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. Air filtering apparatus comprising a chamber containing a filtering medium, the chamber having an inlet and an outlet, means coupled to the outlet for extracting air from the chamber through the outlet, and a conduit coupled at one end to the inlet of the chamber, the other end of the conduit being adapted to be coupled to a toilet bowl.

2. Air filtering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the filtering medium in the chamber is an absorption or adsorption medium.

3. Air filtering apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the medium is activated carbon.

4. Air filtering apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the means for extracting air from the filter chamber may comprise a fan driven by a motor.

5. Air filtering apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the motor is an electric motor.

6. Air filtering apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the electric motor operates on a low voltage power supply.

7. Air filtering apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the low voltage power supply is less than 100 volts.

8. Air filtering apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the power supply comprises a battery.