Devices and methods for toilet ventilation using a radar sensor

• US 6,279,173 B1
• Filed: 04/12/1999
• Issued: 08/28/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kohler Company
• Original Assignee: DLM Incorporated (Medtronic Plc)
• Inventors: Denzin, Peter W., Larkin, John F., Petrich, Kyle L., Schlee, Jennifer A., Merritt, Michael J., Lincicum, Erik C., Sorensen, Peter O., Heinzmann, Fred Judson
• Primary Examiner(s): Phillips, Charles E.
• Application Number:
  US09/291,130
• Time in Patent Office: 869 Days
• Field of Search: 421/3, 421/6
• US Class Current: 4/213
• CPC Class Codes: E03D 9/05 ventilating the bowl

Abstract

A toilet ventilation device includes a housing that defines an air inlet aperture and an air outlet aperture. Within the housing are an air movement apparatus for drawing air into the device, a filter for removing malodorous elements in the air, and a radar sensor for activating the air movement apparatus in response to the presence of a user and, optionally, deactivating the air movement apparatus when the user leaves. The toilet ventilation device is configured and arranged to draw air, using the air movement apparatus, from the toilet, through the air inlet aperture, into contact with the filter, and out the air outlet aperture. In one embodiment, the toilet ventilation device is disposed over the overflow conduit of the toilet to draw air from the bowl of the toilet, through the overflow conduit, and into the toilet ventilation device. The entire toilet ventilation device is preferably disposed within a tank of a toilet.

Claims

1. A toilet ventilation device for disposition within a toilet, the toilet ventilation device comprising:

(a) a housing defining an air inlet aperture and an air outlet aperture;

(b) an air movement apparatus disposed in the housing;

(c) a filter disposed in the housing for removing malodorous elements from air; and

(d) a radar sensor disposed in the housing and electrically coupled to the air movement apparatus to activate the air movement apparatus in response to a presence of a user, wherein the radar sensor is configured and arranged for disposition completely within the tank of the toilet and does not require a window formed in the tank for detection of a user of the toilet;

(e) wherein the toilet ventilation device is configured and arranged to draw air, using the air movement apparatus, from the toilet, through the air inlet aperture, into contact with the filter, and out the air outlet aperture.

2. The toilet ventilation device of claim 1, wherein the radar sensor comprises a pulsed RF transmitter that emits pulses of RF energy.

3. The toilet ventilation device of claim 2, wherein the radar sensor comprises a gated receiver to receive reflections of the RF energy only during a gating time period after each pulse from the pulsed RF transmitter.

4. The toilet ventilation device of claim 1, wherein the radar sensor comprises

(i) a transmitter for emitting RF energy,

(ii) a receiver for receiving reflections of the RF energy emitted by the transmitter, and

(iii) processing circuitry to detect a user based on the reflections received by the receiver.

5. The toilet ventilation device of claim 4, wherein the processing circuitry comprises a microprocessor.

6. The toilet ventilation device of claim 4, wherein the processing circuitry comprises a comparator.

7. The toilet ventilation device of claim 4, wherein the radar sensor further comprises a timer configured and arranged to activate the air movement apparatus when the processor detects a user for a detection period.

8. The toilet ventilation device of claim 7, wherein the timer is configured and arranged to deactivate the air movement apparatus when the processor fails to detect a user for a non-detection period.

9. The toilet ventilation device of claim 8, wherein the non-detection period is longer than the detection period.

10. The toilet ventilation device of claim 7, wherein the timer comprises a capacitor and the detection period comprises a time period needed to charge the capacitor to a detection level.

11. The toilet ventilation device of claim 1, wherein the radar sensor is configured and arranged to determine the presence of a user by detecting motion of the user.

12. The toilet ventilation device of claim 1, further comprising a hanging assembly coupled to the housing of the toilet ventilation device to hang the toilet ventilation device from a sidewall of a tank of the toilet.

13. The toilet ventilation device of claim 1, wherein the toilet ventilation device is attached to an overflow conduit of the toilet.

14. The toilet ventilation device of claim 1, wherein the device is configured and arranged so that the air movement device blows air through the filter.

15. The toilet ventilation device of claim 1, wherein the radar sensor comprises a circuit board and at least one antenna disposed as a conductive trace on the circuit board.

16. The toilet ventilation device of claim 1, wherein the radar sensor is disposed over the air movement device.

17. A toilet ventilation device for disposition within a tank of a toilet and for removal of contaminants from at least a bowl portion of the toilet, the toilet ventilation device comprising:

(a) a housing defining an air inlet aperture and an air outlet aperture;

(b) an air movement apparatus disposed in the housing;

(c) a filter disposed in the housing; and

(d) a radar sensor disposed within the housing, the radar sensor being electrically coupled to the air movement apparatus to activate and deactivate the air movement apparatus in response to a presence and absence of a user;

(e) wherein the toilet ventilation device is configured and arranged to be disposed over an overflow conduit of a toilet and, using the air movement apparatus, to draw air from the bowl of the toilet, through the overflow conduit, into the air inlet aperture of the housing, through the filter, and out the air outlet aperture of the housing.

18. A toilet ventilation device for removal of odors from air, comprising:

(a) a housing defining an air inlet aperture and an air outlet aperture;

(b) an air movement apparatus disposed in the housing; and

(c) a radar sensor disposed within the housing and electrically coupled to the air movement apparatus to activate the air movement apparatus in response to detection of a user, wherein the radar sensor is configured and arranged for disposition completely within the tank of the toilet and does not require a window formed in the tank for detection of a user of the toilet, wherein the radar sensor comprises

(i) a transmitter for emitting pulses of rf energy,

(ii) a gated receiver for receiving reflections of the pulses of rf energy, wherein the gated receiver is only receptive to the reflections for a time period after each pulse of rf energy in which the receiver is gated open, and

(iii) a processor for determining, in response to the reflections received by the receiver, whether a user is present.

19. A method of removing malodorous elements using a toilet ventilation device disposed within, the method including steps of:

(a) sensing, using a radar sensor, whether a person is proximate the toilet, wherein the radar sensor is disposed in the toilet ventilation device and the radar sensor is completely disposed within the tank of the toilet and does not require a window formed in the tank for detection of the person proximate to the toilet;

(b) operating an air movement apparatus, when the person is proximate the toilet, to draw air from a bowl of the toilet into the toilet ventilation device, wherein the air movement apparatus is disposed in the toilet ventilation device; and

(c) removing malodorous elements in the air drawn from the toilet bowl using a filter disposed in the toilet ventilation device.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein operating an air movement apparatus comprises drawing air into the air movement apparatus and redirecting the air in an opposite direction out of the air movement apparatus.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the step of operating the air movement apparatus comprises

(i) drawing air from the bowl of the toilet, through an overflow conduit of the toilet, and into the toilet ventilation device in response to the presence of the user, wherein the toilet ventilation device comprises a housing defining an air inlet aperture and the overflow conduit of the toilet is disposed within the air inlet aperture.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the step of sensing whether a person is proximate the toilet comprises

(i) emitting a transmitter signal from a transmitter portion of the radar sensor;

(ii) receiving a receiver signal at a receiver portion of the radar sensor, the receiver signal comprising a portion of the radar signal reflected from any person proximate the toilet; and

(iii) processing the receiver signal to determine if a person is proximate the toilet.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the step of drawing air from the bowl of the toilet comprises activating the air movement apparatus when a person proximate the toilet is detected for a detection period.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the step of drawing air from the bowl of the toilet further comprises deactivating the air movement apparatus when no person is detected proximate the toilet for a non-detection period.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein

(i) the step of emitting a transmitter signal comprises emitting a plurality of radar pulses, and

(ii) the step of receiving a receiver signal comprises receiving a receiver signal at a receiver portion of the radar sensor only during a time period after each radar pulse when the receiver portion of the radar sensor is gated open.

26. The method of claim 19, wherein removing malodorous elements comprises blowing air from the air movement apparatus through a filtering device and out an air outlet aperture of the toilet ventilation device.