US 4,222,130 AGranted

Waterless flush toilet system

AssigneeInca-One Corporation

InventorGeorge C. Roberts

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A waterless flush toilet system comprising at least one toilet and a gravity fed waste holding tank. The system utilizes a recirculating nonaqueous flushing fluid which is stored within the holding tank. The fluid, which is lighter than the waste material and insoluble therein, forms a stratified layer on the surface of the material. A float having a flushing fluid inlet floats within the layer of fluid, the float being suspended from the top of the tank by a flexible coiled hose which is coupled to the fluid inlet. The coiled hose contracts as the waste level in the tank rises, thereby permitting the float to remain within the flushing fluid layer regardless of the waste material level. When the toilet is flushed, an electric or air-powered pump draws a fraction of the fluid into the fluid inlet of the float, through the flexible hose and finally to the toilet. The fluid serves as a medium for transporting the waste material from the toilet to the holding tank. When the fluid is flushed into the tank, it separates from the waste material and returns to the stratified layer for reuse. The system includes a floating member which automatically prevents loss of the flushing fluid when the holding tank is drained. Two embodiments of the system are disclosed with a first embodiment system comprising a single toilet and single waste holding tank and a second embodiment system comprising a plurality of toilets coupled to a single tank.

Claims21

Dependent claims

In a waterless flushing toilet system including at least one toilet, a waste holding tank having a waste inlet and a waste outlet, a supply of a nonaqueous flushing fluid stored in said holding tank, said fluid being lighter than and substantially insoluble in water, so that a stratified layer of said fluid is formed on the upper surface of the waste material held in the tank and a flushing fluid pickup device disposed in said tank for removing a quantity of flushing fluid from said tank to be delivered to said at least one toilet for flushing purposes, an improvement comprising:

a perforated position disposed in said tank which divides said tank into a solid waste and a liquid waste compartment with said waste inlet and outlet being disposed in said solid waste compartment and said fluid pickup device being disposed in said liquid waste compartment;
wherein said flushing fluid pickup device is a pickup float which floats within said liquid waste compartment, said float comprising an upper pickup float member and a lower pickup float member coupled to and spaced apart from said upper member, said upper and lower members defining a plenum containing flushing fluid with at least one flushing fluid inlet being disposed in said plenum;
and
a hose having a first end coupled to said pickup float and in communication with said at least one flushing fluid inlet and a second end coupled to a means for supplying said flushing fluid to said at least one toilet, said hose being substantially in the form of a coil with said pickup float being suspended by said hose;
whereby solid and liquid phase waste arriving from said at least one toilet through said waste inlet is deposited in said solid waste compartment with said partition impeding the transfer of the solid phase waste from said solid waste compartment to said liquid waste compartment where said flushing fluid is picked up by said float member and delivered to said at least one toilet through said hose.

2 more elements

In a waterless flush toilet system including a toilet, a waste holding tank having a waste inlet and a waste outlet, a supply of a nonaqueous flushing fluid stored in said holding tank, said fluid being lighter than and substantially insoluble in water so that a stratified layer of fluid is formed on the upper surface of waste material held in the tank, and a flushing fluid pickup device disposed in said tank for flushing purposes, an improvement comprising:

a float member disposed within said holding tank, said float member having a density such that said member normally floats approximately near the surface of the waste material and has a cross-section at least as large as said waste outlet;
wherein said pickup device is a pickup float disposed within said tank, said pickup float having at least one flushing fluid inlet disposed within said layer of flushing fluid and a hose substantially in the form of a coil having a first end coupled to said pickup float and in communication with said at least one fluid inlet and a second end coupled to a means for supplying said flushing fluid to said toilet, with said pickup float being suspended by said hose;
a perforated portion disposed within said tank which divides said tank into a solid waste compartment and a liquid waste compartment with said waste inlet, said waste outlet and said float member being disposed within said solid compartment and with said pickup float being disposed in said liquid waste compartment and is suspended by said hose with said hose being substantially in the form of a coil;
a funnel-like structure made of a perforated material disposed within said solid waste compartment, said structure defining an upper opening positioned below said waste inlet, said structure tapering from upper opening to define a lower opening, said lower opening being disposed over and approximately the same size as said waste outlet;
whereby when said waste outlet is opened for draining said tank, said float member is guided to said waste outlet by said structure and eventually becomes seated within said waste outlet so as to form a seal and thereby preventing the loss of said flushing fluid disposed on the upper surface of the waste material.

2 more elements

In a waterless flushing toilet system including at least one toilet, a waste holding tank having a waste inlet and a waste outlet, a supply of a nonaqueous flushing fluid stored in said holding tank, said fluid being lighter than and substantially insoluable in water, so that a stratified layer of said fluid is formed on the upper surface of the waste material held in the tank and a flushing fluid pickup device disposed in said tank for removing a quantity of flushing fluid from said tank to be delivered to said at least one toilet for flushing purposes, an improvement comprising:

a perforated partition disposed in said tank which divides said tank into a solid waste and a liquid waste compartment with said waste inlet and outlet being disposed in said solid waste compartment and said fluid pickup device being disposed in said liquid waste compartment;
retaining means for preventing said flushing fluid from exiting said holding tank when said tank is drained, said retaining means comprising a float member disposed in said solid waste compartment, said float member having a density such that said float member normally floats approximately near the surface of the waste material and has a cross-section at least as large as said waste outlet;
whereby when said waste outlet is opened for draining said tank, said floating member approaches said waste outlet and eventually becomes seated within said waste outlet so as to form a seal and thereby preventing the loss of said flushing fluid disposed on the upper surface of the waste material.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.