Waterless Toilet System And Method With Ventilation Control

A toilet system including:

• (a) a transport conduit including a discharge end, an inner end, and a commode opening located between the discharge end and inner end;
• (b) a flush member positioned within the transport conduit and being movable between a retracted position and an extended position, wherein in the retracted position a sealing end of the flush member resides between the commode opening and the inner end of the transport conduit and in the extended position the sealing end of the flush member resides approximately at the discharge end of the transport conduit;
• (c) an outer seal element being movable between a sealing position and a displaced position, wherein in the sealing position the outer seal element seals the discharge end of the transport conduit and in the displaced position the outer seal element is separated from the discharge end of the transport conduit;
• (d) one or more ventilation passages in the outer seal element, each ventilation passage extending through the outer seal element to enable airflow there through from an interior of the transport conduit when the outer seal element is in the sealing position;
• (e) an actuator system operatively connected to the flush member and to the outer seal element, the actuator system being operable to move the flush member and the outer seal element in a flush cycle in which (i) at least a discharge gap is maintained between the flush member and the outer seal element as the flush member moves from the retracted position to the extended position and the outer seal element moves from the sealing position to the displaced position, and (ii) the flush member then moves back to the retracted position and the outer seal element moves back to the sealing position.

A method including:

• (a) moving a flush member within a transport conduit from a retracted position at an inner end of the transport conduit to an extended position in which the flush member resides approximately at a discharge end of the transport conduit opposite the inner end;
• (b) moving an outer seal element from a sealing position forming a seal at the discharge end of the transport conduit to a displaced position separate from the discharge end of the transport conduit, the movement of the outer seal element from the sealing position to the displaced position being performed so as to maintain at least a discharge gap between the flush member and the outer seal element as the flush member moves from the retracted position to the extended position;
• (c) moving the flush member from the extended position to the retracted position and moving the outer seal element from the displaced position to the sealing position;
• and
• (d) while the outer seal element is in the sealing position, inducing airflow through a ventilation passage in the outer seal element from an interior space of the transport conduit.