US2849727A - Ventilating apparatus for closets or toilets - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 2, 1958 E. N. BOLLINGER ET AL 2,849,727

VENTILATING APPARATUS FOR CLOSETS OR TOILETS Filed April 16, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEY) s R O T f m.W I A Wm IWW W, I 4 I T l 1 NJ A m n u H mm 0 9 n 9 $8 R 5 7 5 ul q I r 5 T w 9 P 9 E 5 C 5 p v 00000002000000 B 00000002000000 00000002000000 l. 00000000000 00 5 00000002000000 00000009000000 00000000 000 00000000000000 00000000000000 00000000000000 4 I 0000000000 00 5 00000009000000 00000000300000 00000000700000 00000000000000 m 5 00000021000000 0 5 5 F Q 5 R 5 ,1 I V l 2, 1958 E. N. 'BOLLINGER ETAL 2,849,727

VENTILATING APPARATUS FOR CLO-SETS 0R TOILETS Filed April 16. 1956 INV ENTORS Bollmger Hauck, Sr.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Edward N. William J.

BY Aw y waf ATTORNEY} Unitct a VENTILATING APPARATUS FOR CLOSETS OR TOILETS Edward N. Bollinger and William J. Hauck, Sr., Erie, Pa.

Application April 16, 1956, Serial No. 578,486

Claims. (Cl. 4-217) This invention relates to the seat and associated closure structures of closets or toilets and more particularly to ventilating apparatus contained in or associated with such structures.

An important object of the invention is to provide ventilating apparatus of the kind described which requires no alterations in the bowl of the closet or toilet, nor any alterations in the walls, floor, ceiling, or the like of the room containing the closet or toilet.

Another important object is to provide ventilating apparatus as described which requires no plumbing skill in installing the apparatus on standard or conventional closets or toilet bowls.

A further important object is to provide ventilating and dcodorizing apparatus for closets and the like, which incorporates a new principle of closet or toilet bowl ventilation by the provision of a curtain of moving air which absorbs or draws off objectionable odors and the air is then deodorized before the air exits from the structures and into the room.

Additionally. an important object is to provide ventilating apparatus outlined, comprising ventilating apparatus partly built into the seat and cover and partly closely associated with the seat to provide a compact apparatus which requires but little room for packaging, shipping, storing, and installing as a complete unit.

A further important object is to provide for the exit of deodorized air from the back of the raised cover of the apparatus. rather than cxteriorly of the room containing the closet or toilet.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent during the course at the following detailed description of the invention, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming a part of thi disclosure. and in which drawing:

Fig. 1 is a top plan of the ventilating apparatus attached to a bowl, with the seat and cover down.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section, substantially on the line 22 of Fig. 1 but with the cover raised.

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the seat of the apparatus, with portions broken away to better illustrate parts of the construction.

Fig. 4 is a top plan of the cover of the apparatus with parts broken away so as to better illustrate elements of the construction, Figs. 3 and 4 being on reduced scale.

Fig. 5 is a rear elevation of the apparatus with minor portions broken away in order to reveal structure beneath.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a ports-containing plate forming a part of the scar, and illustrating, by the use of arrows, the flow of a curtain of air across the central opening in the seat.

In the drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown a preferred embodiment of the invention and wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the letter A designates a closet or toilet; B, a bowl; and C, the vetttilating apparatus.

The bowl B is of conventional construction, having iii- 3 Vet?" wtilce mar in Patented Sept. 2, 1958 upstanding outer walls defining an upwardly-opening receptacle 10 with an upper rim portirn 11 provided with a substantially horizontal rim 12 w ich rim portion is continued rearwardly in a horizontally-disposed securing means-attaching flange 13, which may be provided with a suitable number of spaced-apart verticallycxtending bolt shank receiving openings 14, one of which is shown in Fig. 2, and two of which are generally provided.

The ventilating apparatus C comprises a seat portion 15, cover portion 16, air pressure producing means 17, vacuum creating and air pressurizing means 18, operating means 19 for actuating the means 17 and 18. and securing means 20 for securing the apparatus C to the closet or toilet A.

Referring mainly to Figs. 2 and 3, the seat portion 15 includes a heat body which may be a shell with outer walls of hardened synthetic plastic material defining a central opening 26, having a substantially vertical axis, and including a normally lower wall 27, normally upper wall 28, normally vertical rear wall 29 and normally vertical spaced apart braces 30 enclosed by the outer walls and supporting the upper wall 28. These braces 30 are generally continuous spaced apart walls or partitions extending from the rear wall 29 around the interior of the seat body 25 and define a plurality of passageways 31. Extending through the lower wall 27, at preferably the forwardly portion thereof, is a first or discharge port 32 in communication with the passageways 31 as may be seen in Fig. 2. Preferably the port is relatively closely adjacent the central opening 26 and faces the rim ]2 of the bowl, there being a narrow space between the wall 27 and this rim, since the wall 27 may be raised from the rim as by a plurality of spaced-apart bumper members 33, which may be of rubber secured to the outer face of the wall 27. Spaced from the port 32 is a transverse stop or battle 34 which prevents air under pressure after flowing through the passageway 31, from flowing anywhere else except through the port 32.

The rear wall 29 is provided with an opening which, due to the introduction of a battle 35 divides this opening into a relatively small or second port 36 communicating with the passageways 31 and a larger port 37 in communication with preferably a plurality of small spaced-apart ports 38 in a plate 39 which otherwise closes a cutaway portion of the rear part of the lower wall 27 and has additional functions as will be subsequently described. The spaced apart ports 38 are of considerable importance, since they are disposed, as may be seen in Fig. 6 over a considerable area of the underside of the seat portion 15 at its rearward end and they tend to cause the air discharged from the port 32 to fan out, due to a vacuum at the ports 38, as will be explained. and form a curtain of air below the central opening 26 flowing in a direction substantially normal to the vertical asis of the central opening, as will be more fully described later.

With the arrangement described above, air (as under pressure) and provided by the means 17 may be discharged into the port 36 and. being confined by the baffle 35 and walls constituting the braces 30, flows through the passageways 31 and out of the port 32. The air is not dissipated outwardly of the bowl B and seat portion 15 because of a vacuum created by the means 18 (to be described) and causing the discharged air to flow as a curtain below the opening 26 below the horizontal planes of the lower and upper walls 27 and 28 and be drawn through the ports 38. and the port 3'. for subsequent flow as will be later described. To prevent the air after entering the ports 38 and 37 from being dissipated, there is provided the transverse bafile 40. The plate 39 may be secured to the lower wall 27 as by screws 41a with the shanks thereof extending through suitable openings in the plate 39 and into suitable sockets in the wall 27. Extending normally upwardly (as when the seat is in a lowered position) from the rear end portions of the plate 39 are a pair of spaced apart arms 41 (shown in Fig. l) for connection with the housings of the means 17 and 18 and for pivotal connection with the arms of the cover portion 16 to be described.

Referring now to the cover portion 16, shown best in Figs. 1, 2 and 4. the same includes a cover body 45 which may be a shell of material similar to that of the seat body 25, with opposite walls 46 and 47 (the wall 46 being the upper wall when the cover is in a lowered position upon the seat portion and a rim wall 48 joining the walls 46 and 47 at the front and sides of the cover body 45. There may he provided spaced-apart brace 49 between the walls 46 and 47 but the interior at the central portion of the cover body is free thereof and provides a recess 50 for dcodorizing means 51.

The dcodorizing means 51 may comprise a suitable container, as a coarse-mesh cloth bag 52, containing, for example. activated charcoal disposed between two spacedapart foraminous plates 53 and 54 fitting into the recess 50. The outer plate 54 may be secured to the wall 46 in any approved way, such as by screws 55 so it may be removed in order to renew the charcoal when required. The inner plate 53 is spaced from the bottom of the recess as may he wen in Fig. 2.

leading to the recess 50 and, consequently, the charcoal is a port 56 which extends through a plate 57 covering the rear end of the cover body 45 and which port is in communication with the suction port 68 of the vacuum creating and air pressurizing means 18 to be described. Since the housing 61 associated with the means 17 is tubular and the cover portion 16 swings in an are when raised or lowered. there is provided a lips portion 58 extending outward from the outer end of the port 56 with an arcuate outer face to slide over the ottter face of the housing last mentioned.

The cover portion 45 carries a pair of spaced-apart arms 5) extending from the ends of the plate 57 and normal to the longitudinal axis thereof, for pivotal connection with the arms 41 of the seat portion 15.

Referring mainly to Figs. 1 and 5, the air pressure producing means 17 is shown, by way of example, as a fan, which is preferably a conventional vane-type fan 60 within a tubular housing 61 having one open end and one end closed by a wall 62. This housing 61 is provided with a discharge port 63 in its wall nearest the seat portion 15 and in communication with the port 36 and, consequently, the passageway 31. In the opposite wall portion of the housing 61 is air intake means which may be provided by a plurality of spaced-apart ports 64, adapted to receive air sucked in. from exteriorly of the housing 61 by the fan 60 and discharge it, under pressure. from the port 63.

Still referring mainly to Figs. l and 5. the vacuum creating and air pressuriring means 18 is shown, by way of example, as a fan, which is preferably a conventional vane-type fan 65 within a tubular housing 66 having one open end and one end, closed by a wall 67. This housing is provided with an intake or suction port 68 (Fig. 2) in its wall nearest the seat portion 15, (that is, at the vacuum side of the housing 66) in communication with the ports 38 or the seat portion 15. There is a pressure discharge port 69 in the upper wall of the housing 66 at the pressure side of the housing which. when the cover is raised (as in Fig. 2) is in communication with the passageway be tween the lips portion 58 and port 56 of the cover portion 16, so that contaminated air. drawn into the port 56 will find its way to the deodorizing means 5! and be deodorized and discharged from the openings in the foraminous plate 54 preferably into the room containing the closet or toilet A. In order to provide a good connection between the port 56 and lips portion 58. we may provide a lips portion 69a extending upwardly from the port 56 for engagement with the lips portion 58.

The operating means 19 for the simultaneous operation of the means 17 and 18 is preferably electrical and may be a conventional electric motor 70 within a suitable tubulat housing 71 which may telescope with the housings 61 and 66. The motor has a pair of shafts, with aligning longitudinal axes, operatively secured in any approved way, one to the fan 60 and the other to the fan 65. A conventional electrical conductor cord 72 may be provided, with a conventional on-otf electric switch 73 interposed therein t'or electrical connection with the motor 70, as is well known in the art.

Securing means 20 for securing the apparatus C to the closet or toilet A may comprise a suitable number of screw-threaded bolt shanks 75 extending from a yoke 76 and adapted to extend into and through the openings 14 in the bowl B and with their protruding free ends provided with suitable nuts 77, whereby the means 20 is a detachable means. The yoke 76 is provided with a pair of upwardly extending parallel arms 78 having hearings to receive portions of pivot members 79 which may comprise shanks extending outwardly from and secured to the axial centers of the walls 62 and 67 to receive the pivot member-accommodating openings in the arms 41 and 59 as well as those in the arms 78. Suitable nuts may be provided for the screw threaded free ends of the pivot members 79.

The plate 39 may be secured conventionally to the housings 61, 66 and 71 in any approved way. For example screw means 80 may be employed with the outer screw threaded ends of the screw shanks extending into screw threaded sockets in the housings and the head end portions of the shanks extending through suitable openings in the plate 39.

From the foregoing it may be seen that air under pressure is positively discharged at one portion of the seat 15 and below the horizontal planes of the surfaces of the walls 27 and 28 whereupon it is not dissipated outwardly but is drawn by the means 18 across the central opening 26 in the seat, as a positive curtain of air, to absorb odors within the closet bowl, and the odors-laden air is then forced, at the air pressurizing zone of the means 18 to flow through the deodorizing means 51 and from thence the deodorized air is forced out of the raised cover in a rearward flow.

Various changes may be made to the form of the invention herein shown and described without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Ventilating apparatus for a closet, said apparatus including a normally horizontal seat having a forward end portion and a rearward end portion, a central opening and spaced apart walls defining said opening and portions and providing air passageways through said seat from said rearward end portion to said forward end portion with air passageway exit ports for the exit of air from said passageways at said forward end portion, said walls including a bottom wall having a cutaway at its rearward end portion, a rigid plate bridging said cutaway and secured to said bottom wall and provided with a plurality of spaced-apart small air intake ports grouped at one portion of said plate, said plate and portions of said walls defining a chamber in said seat, open at its rearward end and provided with bafile means dividing said chamber into a large air exit port and a smaller air intake port, with said large air exit port in communication with said small air passageways and the opening at the rearward end of said chamber, and said smaller air intake port in communication with said air passageways and said opening; means for forcing air under pressure into said smaller air intake port; a cover for said seat having a passageway therethrough from one end thereof to exteriorly of said cover; means to create a continuous vacuum to draw air from said passageway exit ports, across said central opening, into said small intake openings and said large air exit port when said cover is in a lowermost position, each means including a housing with the housings rigidly secured together end-to-end immediately rearwardly of said seat when said seat is in a lowered position, connecting means movably connecting said cover to said housing; one housing having a fresh air receiving port, and an air discharge port for said fresh air and in communication with said smaller air intake port when said cover is in a lowered position only, and the other housing having an air suction port in communication with said large air exit port when said cover is in a lowered position only, and a port open to said passageway in said cover at said one end of said cover; and means providing a pivotal connection between said housings and said seat.

2. Ventilating apparatus according to claim 1 characterized in that said plate is provided with a pair of normally upwardly-extending spaced apart rigid arms having axially-aligned pivot member-accommodating openings, and the pivotal connection means between said housings and seat includes pivot members extending through saitl pivot member-accommodating openings and rigid with the walls of said housings.

3. Ventilating apparatus according to claim 2 characterized in that said connecting means includes a pair of spaced-apart normally upwardly-extending arms projecting from the rearward end of said cover and provided with axially aligned pivot member-accommodating openings, and said pivot members extend through the last named pivot member-accommodating openings.

spaced-apart normally upwardly-extending arms projecting from the rearward end of said cover and provided with axially aligned pivot member-accommodating openings, and said pivot members extend through the last named pivot member-accommodating openings; and said apparatus includes means for securing said apparatus to a closet bowl, including a yoke having a pair of upwardlyextending parallel arms having hearings to receive portions of said pivot members.

5. Ventilating apparatus according to claim 1 characterized in that said cover has an imperforate wall, lowermost when said cover is lowered, that air pervious and air deodorizing means is interposed in said passageway in said cover and said deodorizing means is spaced from said wall of said cover.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 331,120 Eisenbach Nov, 25, 1885 470,740 Bluhm Mar. 15, 1892 962,490 Bruder et al. June 28, 1910 1,794,635 Mills Mar. 3, 1931 1,819,521 Root Aug. 18, 1931 2,320,065 Briscoe et a1. May 25, 1943 2,322,515 Hazard June 22, 1943 2,516,432 Spencer -3 July 25, 1950 2,726,405 Smith et a1. Dec. 13, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 481,991 Great Britain Mar. 22, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT UFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 2,849,727 September 2, 1958 Edward N. Bollinger et a1,

It is herebjr certified that error appears in the-printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 2, line 16, for "heat" read seat column 4, line '74,

before "passageway" insert air Signed and sealed this 11th day of November 1958.

est:

KARL Ii, LINE ROBERT C. WATSON Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents

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