TOILET ODOR FILTER DEVICE AND METHOD THEREFOR

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM

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STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR

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) BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(1) Field of the Invention

The disclosure relates to toilet deodorizers and more particularly pertains to a new toilet odor filter device with a suction fan and air filter for filtering out odor-causing particles from malodorous air when a person is using the toilet and creating malodorous air, which device is also portable so the user can filter air from any private or public toilet.

(2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98

The prior art relates to toilet deodorizers. The prior art, as best understood, does not disclose toilet odor filter device with a suction fan and air filter for filtering out odor-causing particles from malodorous air when a person is using the toilet and creating malodorous air, which device is also portable so the user can filter air from any private or public toilet.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above in a toilet odor filter device generally comprising a support arm, a vented head, and a filter assembly. The support arm is designed to fit onto an upper portion of a toilet bowl and includes an air conduit therein. The vented head is attached to a first end of the support arm and is positionable in a toilet bowl. The filter assembly is attached to a second end of the support arm and is positionable outside a toilet bowl. The filter assembly includes a housing, a suction fan positioned in the housing and designed to suction malodorous air from a toilet bowl through the vented head and the air conduit, and an air filter positioned in the housing and designed to filter odor-causing particles from suctioned malodorous air.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a bottom perspective view of a toilet odor filter device according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a side view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a bottom perspective view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a view of an embodiment of the disclosure in use.

FIG. 6 is a another view of an embodiment of the disclosure in use.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the disclosure in a compact position.

FIG. 8 is a box diagram of components of an embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 8 thereof, a new toilet odor filter device embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 8, the toilet odor filter device 10 generally comprises a support arm 12, a vented head 14, and a filter assembly 16. The support arm 12 is designed to fit onto an upper portion of a toilet bowl 70 and includes an air conduit 18 therein. The vented head 14 is attached to a first end 20 of the support arm 12 and is positionable in a toilet bowl 70. The filter assembly 16 is attached to a second end 22 of the support arm 12 and is positionable outside a toilet bowl 70. The filter assembly 16 includes a housing 24, a suction fan 26 positioned in the housing 24 and designed to suction malodorous air from a toilet bowl 70 through the vented head 14 and the air conduit 18, and an air filter 28 positioned in the housing 24 and designed to filter odor-causing particles from suctioned malodorous air.

The support arm 12 is divided into arm sections pivotably connected by joints 30 to permit shaping of the support arm 12 in a U-shape for hanging over an upper portion of a toilet bowl 70, as shown in FIG. 1. The joints 30 are also designed to permit folding of the support arm 12 into a compact profile for transport, such as shown in FIG. 7. Other placements, designs, and numbers of the joints 30 are within the scope of the disclosure to permit different adjustment and shaping of the support arm 12. The arm sections comprise a telescoping middle arm section 32 that is adjustable in width to permit placement over toilet bowl rims or toilet seats of different widths.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the vented head 14 includes a plurality of orifices 34. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the vented head 14 includes a spherical portion to aim the orifices 34 in different directions, as well as a flat face, such that the vented head 14 has a hemispherical design overall. However, other shapes, such as ovals, rectangles, and triangles, as well as different curvatures, such as concave and convex portions, are within the scope of the disclosure. The vented head 14 is pivotably connected to the first end 20 of the support arm 12 by a joint 30.

As shown schematically in FIG. 8, the filter assembly 16 includes a power supply positioned in the housing 24, which is operatively connected to the suction fan 26 and a switch 36 (see FIG. 1) positioned on the housing 24 to permit a user to turn the suction fan 26 on and off. The filter assembly 16 also includes a charging port 38 positioned in the housing 24 and the power supply includes a rechargeable battery (not shown) operatively connected to the charging port 38. The charging port 38 can be designed to receive a USB charger or other type of plug-in charging device to permit a user to recharge the rechargeable battery. The air filter 28 is disposable and thus can be replaced periodically with a new one.

The toilet odor filter device 10 is generally used to capture malodors produced when a user utilizes a toilet, such as odors produced by fecal material or flatulence, in order to avoid personal embarrassment or subjecting other persons to malodorous air. The user places the support arm 12 onto an upper portion of a toilet bowl 70 with the vented head 14 positioned in the toilet bowl 70 and the filter assembly 16 positioned outside the toilet bowl 70, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Either before, during, or after the user uses the toilet and produces malodorous air, the user activates the suction fan 26 by pressing the switch 36. The suction fan 26 then suctions the malodorous air from the toilet bowl 70 through the vented head 14 and the air conduit 18. Odor-causing particles are filtered out from the suctioned malodorous air by the air filter 28. As mentioned above, the support arm 12 is divided into arm sections that are connected by the joints 30, so the user can pivot the arm sections to shape the support arm 12 in a U-shape for hanging over the upper portion of the toilet bowl 70. When the user is done using the toilet odor filter device 10, such as in a public bathroom or a bathroom at another person's residence, the user removes the support arm 12 and folds the support arm 12 at the joints 30 into a compact profile for transport. The user can place the support arm 12 over either the toilet bowl rim 72 (FIG. 5) or over the toilet seat 74 (FIG. 6). Since toilet seats are not the same size as toilet rims, and since toilet seats and toilet rims are not of uniform widths, the user can adjust the width of the telescoping middle arm section 32 to fit the toilet bowl rim 72 or the toilet seat 74 of the toilet bowl 70.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.