Ventilation system for a toilet

Abstract

The present invention provides a ventilated toilet system with a fan that continuously extracts waste air from the toilet bowl when the toilet is being used. An air passage leads from the toilet bowl to the fan, and the fan pushes the extracted air down another air passage to the toilet's water discharge path. The fan can be manually operated or can be activated by a sensor that detects the presence of a person. To ease installation, the air passages can be formed integrally with the toilet bowl. A check valve, in some embodiments, prevents the back flow of odors from a sewer line. The fan, its power source, and its controller, can be made into a modular unit made to fit any of a number of toilet fixtures.

1 . A ventilated toilet system, the ventilated toilet system comprising: 
 a toilet bowl configured for discharging wastes through a water discharge path into a sewer line;    the water discharge path leading from the toilet bowl and configured for connecting to the sewer line;    an air extraction path leading from the toilet bowl to a fan unit;    an air discharge path leading from the fan unit to the water discharge path; and    the fan unit comprising a fan, an electrical power source, and a controller, wherein the fan is configured for drawing air from the air extraction path and for directing the extracted air to the air discharge path, wherein the electrical power source is configured for powering the fan, and wherein the controller is configured for controlling the electrical power source to activate the fan.    
   
   
       2 . The ventilated toilet system of  claim 1  wherein the air extraction path and the air discharge path are formed integrally with the toilet bowl.  
   
   
       3 . The ventilated toilet system of  claim 1  comprising a plurality of air extraction paths.  
   
   
       4 . The ventilated toilet system of  claim 1  wherein the fan unit comprises a plurality of fans.  
   
   
       5 . The ventilated toilet system of  claim 1  wherein the fan unit further comprises a check valve configured to prevent air from flowing from the air discharge path to the air extraction path.  
   
   
       6 . The ventilated toilet system of  claim 1  wherein the controller is further configured for activating the fan in response to a manual activation.  
   
   
       7 . The ventilated toilet system of  claim 1  further comprising: 
 a discharge port between the air extraction path and the fan unit.    
   
   
       8 . The ventilated toilet system of  claim 1  further comprising: 
 a vent port between the fan unit and the air discharge path.    
   
   
       9 . The ventilated toilet system of  claim 1  further comprising: 
 a sensor,    wherein the controller is further configured for activating the fan in response to output from the sensor.    
   
   
       10 . The ventilated toilet system of  claim 9  wherein the sensor is responsive to an element selected from the set consisting of: weight, movement, and light.  
   
   
       11 . The ventilated toilet system of  claim 9  wherein the controller is further configured for de-activating the fan after a predetermined period.  
   
   
       12 . The ventilated toilet system of  claim 1  further comprising: 
 a water tank,    wherein the fan unit sits within the water tank.    
   
   
       13 . A fan unit for ventilating a toilet, the fan unit comprising: 
 a fan;    an electrical power source; and    a controller,    wherein the fan is configured for drawing air from an air extraction path leading from a toilet bowl and for directing the extracted air to an air discharge path leading to a water discharge path, wherein the electrical power source is configured for powering the fan, and wherein the controller is configured for controlling the electrical power source to activate the fan.    
   
   
       14 . The fan unit of  claim 13  wherein the fan is configured for drawing air from a plurality of air extraction paths.  
   
   
       15 . The fan unit of  claim 13  comprising a plurality of fans.  
   
   
       16 . The fan unit of  claim 13  further comprising: 
 a check valve configured to prevent air from flowing from the air discharge path to the air extraction path.    
   
   
       17 . The fan unit of  claim 13  wherein the controller is further configured for activating the fan in response to a manual activation.  
   
   
       18 . The fan unit of  claim 13  wherein the controller is further configured for activating the fan in response to output from a sensor.  
   
   
       19 . The fan unit of  claim 18  wherein the controller is further configured for de-activating the fan after a predetermined period.