A toilet ventilator apparatus for evacuating unpleasant odors from a toilet to an area adjacent thereto comprising, in combination:
- a toilet seat having a top surface, a bottom surface adapted to rest on a lip of a toilet bowl, an odor collection channel formed therein and terminated at an evacuation nozzle, and a plurality of oblong odor collection vents disposed on the bottom surface and in communication with the odor collection channel for receiving unpleasant odors contained in the air within the vicinity of a toilet bowl, the vents positioned adjacent an outer periphery of the toilet seat for preventing inadvertent splashes therein with the vents formed above the lip of the toilet bowl 3/4 of an inch from the outer periphery of the toilet seat, wherein the vents are constructed to be 1/2 of an inch in width and positioned on opposite sides of the toilet seat;
- and
- a vacuum further comprising:
- a hollow, rigid, and generally box-shaped housing situated on a floor adjacent the toilet bowl, the housing having an inlet and an outlet extended therefrom, the outlet having a screen disposed thereover with the air being evacuated at a location adjacent to the housing, wherein the screen is adapted to prevent dust and debris from entering the housing;
- a motor disposed within the housing with the motor having a fixed stator coupled to the housing and a rotatable rotor positioned in a general axial alignment with the inlet and outlet of the housing;
- a fan coupled to the rotor and with the fan adapted to transfer air with unpleasant odors therein through the housing from the inlet to the outlet, the fan having a plurality of blades formed of essentially flat imperforate members rotatable in a plane of rotation with the blades being angled and offset from the plane of rotation;
- a power cable having a first end adapted to receive power from an external power source and a second end extended through the housing for delivering power to the motor for rotating the rotor;
- a pressure switch coupled on a hinge between the toilet seat and the toilet bowl with the pressure switch situated on a lower surface of an essentially stationary inboard portion of the hinge, wherein the coupling of the inboard portion of the hinge to the toilet bowl is performed with a bolt, a complimentary washer, nut, and a spring situated between the bolt and washer, whereby the pressure switch has one orientation where the inboard portion is lowered and the spring is biased for allowing the vacuum to be energize when pressure is applied to the toilet seat and another orientation when pressure is removed from the toilet seat with the inboard portion raised and the spring unbiased for preventing the vacuum from being energized;
- circuitry for allowing the present invention to be actuated solely via-the pressure switch, manually via a three-terminal switch, or not actuated under any circumstance, wherein the three-terminal switch has a first terminal thereof electrically connected to the second end of the power cable, a second terminal electrically connected to a first terminal of the motor with a second terminal of the motor being connected to the second end of the power cable, and a third terminal coupled to a first terminal of the pressure switch, a second terminal of the pressure switch coupled to the first terminal of the motor, whereby the three-terminal switch has a first orientation wherein the first terminal thereof contacts the second terminal thereof for manual actuation of the motor, a second orientation wherein the first terminal thereof contacts the third terminal thereof for actuation of the motor via solely the pressure switch, and a third orientation wherein the first terminal is open for precluding actuation of the motor;
- a flexible evacuation hose coupled between the evacuation nozzle on the toilet seat and the inlet of the housing;
- a replaceable charcoal filter disposed within the housing for removing unpleasant odors from the evacuated air;
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- scenting means for masking the unpleasant odors contained in the evacuated air, the scenting means adapted to receive power from the second end of the power cable, the scenting means located within the housing and having an associated conduit with an outlet thereof situated adjacent the fan near the outlet of the housing, and a scent switch situated on a top portion of the housing for allowing the dispersion of scented air from the outlet upon the depression thereof;
- whereby when the vacuum is energized, unpleasant odors contained within the air in the vicinity of a toilet bowl are evacuated through the toilet seat and through the vacuum to be filtered, optionally scented, and then deposited at a location remote from the toilet bowl.