Ventilated toilet bowl

Oct. 10, 1961

B. J. S. BELCHER

VENTILATED TOILET BOWL

3,003,157

Filed Oct. 20, 1958

Sheets-Sheet 1

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Oct. 10, 1961

3,003,157

B. J. S. BELCHER

VENTILATED TOILET 30WL

Filed Oct. 20, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 2

FIG. 3.

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Inventor

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Oct. 10, 1961

Filed Oct. 20, 1958

B. J. S. BELCHER

VENTILATED TOILET BOWL

3,003,157

Sheets-Sheet 3

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FIG. 7.

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United States Patent Office

3,993,157

Patented Oct. 10, 1961

3,003,157 VENTILATED TOILET BOWL

Basil John Saunders Belcher, Petts Wood, Orpington, England, assignor to Silavent Limited, Petts Wood, Orpington, England, a British company

Filed Oct. 20, 1958, Ser. No. 768,292 Claims priority, application Great Britain Oct. 22, 1957

Claims. (Cl. 4—217)

This invention relates to the ventilation of water-closets and other toilets.

It is known to incorporate into the seat or bowl of a toilet a duct through which air can be extracted from the bowl in order to prevent polluted air escaping into the room in which the toilet is installed. Although many different constructions have been proposed, it has hitherto been thought necessary for efficient ventilation for the extraction duct either to open directly into the bowl or for the intake opening to face towards the interior of the bowl. This assumption has resulted in constructions which have either been unsightly because the intake opening has been visible, or unhygienic, since the opening is liable to be fouled by splashing and may harbour bacteria.

It is an object of my invention to provide a ventilated toilet which does not suffer from these disadvantages.

A further object of my invention is to provide a ventilating fitting for a toilet comprising in combination a toilet seat and means for air extraction which can be used in conjunction with existing toilet bowls.

A third object is to provide a collector member through 30 which air can be extracted from the bowl of a toilet which can be used in conjunction with existing toilet seats of the type that are mounted on a pivot pin or pins passing through two spaced lugs projecting backwards from the seat. 35

My invention is based on the discovery that efficient ventilation of a toilet bowl can be obtained by withdrawing air from the neighbourhood of the rear top ledge of the bowl even though a substantial amount of the air comes directly from the room and not from within the bowl itself, so that it is not necessary for the extraction duct to open into the bowl or for the intake opening to face the interior of the bowl.

According to my invention a ventilated toilet comprises a bowl, a seat, and means for withdrawing air through an intake opening situated above, facing downwards, substantially wholly towards and spaced apart from the rear top edge of the bowl. The object is to ensure that the mouth of the intake opening is substantially wholly concealed, so that there is practically no risk of splashed liquid directly entering the mouth and that there is no temptation to a child to block it. Thus, in the case of an intake having a mouth lying in a single plane, the whole of an imaginary parallel beam extending through the mouth at right angles to that plane must strike the rear top ledge of the bowl.

The invention includes means for withdrawing the air which comprise a hollow collector having an intake opening facing downwards, an outlet opening for connection to a source of suction, and an internal passage connecting the inlet and the outlet, the collector being mounted at the rear of the toilet seat so that its underside is above and spaced apart from the top ledge of the bowl and the inlet opening faces wholly towards the top ledge of the bowl.

The exact position of the intake opening with respect to the top ledge of the bowl may vary according to the shape of the bowl. Preferably the opening is in the underside of the front part of the collector, and faces vertically downwards. It may, however, face forwards as well as downwards provided always that the collector is so mounted that the opening does not face directly into the bowl. Air is drawn into the space between the collector and the ledge both backwards from the bowl and forwards from behind the toilet, and thence passes upwards into the collector. The proportion of the whole volume 5 of air thus removed which comes from the bowl itself will vary according to the type of bowl, being greatest with a bowl having a flat rear ledge, and least where the rear ledge is cut away at the rear. This variation may be accommodated by varying the capacity of the exhaust 10 means employed.

In a preferred construction according to the invention the collector is mounted between two spaced lugs which project backwards from the seat, the assembly being held in position by a pivot pin which is mounted in sockets or 15 eyes in the heads of two bolts passing through the rear ledge of the bowl and which passes through both the lugs and the collector member. Alternatively the head of each bolt may be provided with a lug which passes through the adjacent seat lug and enters one side of the collector or 20 fits into a socket in that side of the collector. In either case the collector and seat are mounted on the same axis, the collector being prevented from pivoting by its attachment to the suction pipe at the rear.

Other ways of mounting are, of course, possible: for 25 example the collector may be provided with side extensions which fit round the stems of the bolts and are held down on the ledge of the bowl by the bolts, the underside of the main part of the collector being spaced apart from the rim.

The source of suction connected to the outlet of the collector may be a local extraction fan, preferably a small electric fan, or an exhaust manifold.

The bowl may if desired also be provided with a lid mounted in any convenient manner. For example it may be mounted on the same pivot pin as the seat or on separate pivot means in the upper part of the rear of the seat.

Some constructions according to the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view from above showing the rear part of a toilet seat and a collector mounted on the rear part of a toilet bowl;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional side elevation on the line ₄₅ II—II in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional rear elevation on the line ΠΙ—III in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a plan view from below of the assembly shown in FIGURE 1;

gO FIGURE 5 is a sectional rear elevation similar to FIGURE 3 showing an alternative form of mounting;

FIGURES 6 and 7 are respectively a plan view from above and a sectional side elevation on the line VII—VII of a fitting applicable to a close-coupled type of bowl;

^and

FIGURE 8 is a sectional side elevation of a composite collector member.

In the construction shown in FIGURES 1 to 4 a hollow collector 1 consisting for example of a metal casting βθ or plastic moulding is mounted behind a toilet seat 2 with its front part between two lugs 3 projecting backwards from the seat. A pivot pin 4 passes through the lugs and the collector and is held at its ends in sockets in the heads 5 of two bolts which pass through and are secured to the ₆₅ rear ledge 6 of a toilet bowl.

The front part of the collector 1 is in the form of a cylinder with holes in its ends for the pin 4, which passes along the axis of the cylinder transversely of the toilet bowl. In the underside of the cylinder, there is a longing tudinal slot-shaped intake opening 7 parallel to the axis of the cylinder and facing the ledge 6. The cylindrical front part of the collector communicates through a pas8,003,157 ³sage 8 extending the whole length of the cylinder with the tubular rear part 9 that terminates in a circular outlet opening 10, the external diameter of which is reduced to fit into an exhaust pipe 11. The rear part of the collector is cranked so that the outlet opening is to one side of the centre line and thus avoids the downpipe from the cistern.

The bolt heads 5 are provided with shoulders 12 so that the pin 4 is spaced far enough above the top of the ledge for the underside of the collector to be raised clear of the ledge, and buffers 13 are fixed to the underside of the seat to support the seat clear of the rim of the bowl. Raised ribs 14 are formed on the underside of the seat in the neighborhood of the collector to reduce the amount of air drawn under the seat from the sides.

In an alternative way of mounting the collector, shown in FIGURE 5, the pivot pin 4 is replaced by two pins or lugs 15 attached to the bolt-heads 5.

FIGURES 6 and 7 show another form of collector in which the rear part is bent downwards and fits into a hole 16 in the rear ledge 17 of the bowl, which is of the closecoupled type. A connector 18 for the exhaust pipe 19 fits into the bottom of the hole 16, and is held in position by a screw 20.

The collector may be made in separate upper and lower parts held together by a screw, as shown in sectional elevation in FIGURE 8. The upper part 21 and the lower part 22 meet along the line A—B and are held together by the screw 23.

Although the figures show a push-on joint between the collector and the exhaust pipe, a screwed joint or any other convenient form of joint may of course be used.

It is to be noted that the present invention is not to be confused with previously proposed constructions such as that shown in the drawings of U.S. Patent No. 2,726,405, which include air extraction means having an intake opening facing directly towards the toilet bowl. Such constructions suffer from the various disadvantages enumerated in the introduction to this specification. In contrast to such prior constructions, the inlet opening of the air extraction means according to my invention is directed downwards and substantially wholly towards the rear top ledge of the bowl, and is mounted above and clear of this ledge, so that it is a simple matter to clean beneath it.