Patent Application
20110231989
NONE
NONE
The field relates to mechanical-trap toilets.
The following definitions and background information will help make this description clearer and easier to understand so that a reader can appreciate why a mechanical trap toilet can meet numerous technical ASME standards, or their functional intent, required by the Uniform Plumbing Code.
Air Gap—ASME A 112.1.2.-1991 defines air-gap as an unobstructed vertical distance through open atmosphere between the lowest opening from a pipe supplying water from a water supply to a toilet bowl and the highest level in the bowl to which water or waste may rise. The minimum ASME requirement is 50 mm (2 inches). The European Union minimum is 20 mm (0.8 inch).
Artificial Test Media—Test media acceptable to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), are used by the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Operators (IAPMO), toilet-rating laboratories, manufacturers, and inventors to determine the ability of a toilet to expel solids from a toilet bowl in laboratory drain lines. They include standardized polyethylene balls. Toto of USA pioneered the use of condoms of standard capacity filled with tofu of standard weight, also known as sausages.
American Society Of Mechanical Engineering (ASME)—A professional organization which defines the physical, functional, and health requirements of the Uniform Plumbing Code to be tested by a rating agency such as the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) to determine if a given toilet can legally be offered with the latter's rating, for sale in many US states and Canada. To date only conventional toilets have earned this rating; to our knowledge no mechanical trap toilet has.
Burgeoning Urban Populations, Water—Dollar Costs—(1) The US Census Bureau projects the US population will grow by 46% by 2050, from 301 million to 439 million and that practically all of that will be in urban areas. (2) The total annual investment to keep water flowing to cities and to keep it clean, currently costs about $28 billion in the US; 38% of which is financed from the income of water utilities; 5% by government grants; and 13% by government loans. (3) It can cost $1 billion up front to build a new water reservoir, or to enlarge or to repair an existing one, or to build, enlarge, or repair a waste treatment plant for a city of about one million. (4) By the time the loans, and the interest on them, have been paid, each of the above can cost $3 billion, and (5) taxpayers ultimately pay all of these costs.
Consumption Of Toilet Water Per Person Per Day—The volume of indoor toilet water used by a toilet to satisfy the needs of an average person. Medical science and the toilet industry assume the average person defecates once and urinates four times a day. The average toilet in the United States, Canada, Japan, and Europe uses 30 liters (8 gallons) or more of water per person per day. Some dual-flush toilets use 18 liters (4 gallons). Our toilet uses about 5.25 liters (about 1.7 gallons).
Conflicts Caused by Water Shortages—Political disputes and warfare that occur due to water shortages. They are exemplified by the following broadcast on Public Service Television (PBS), “Your Majesty, Jordan has had great relations with Israel?. Can you imagine going to war with Israel for any reason”? The late King Hussein replied, “Yes, water.”
Conventional Toilets That May Legally Be Offered For Sale For Residential And Business Use in The United States—Are of two kinds, (1) those characterized by siphon waste passageways, and (2) those characterized by wash-down waste passageways.
Corrosion—Erosion, pits, crevasses, etc., due to numerous corrosive acids and alkalis acting on most metals, plastics, and elastomers.
Environmental Costs Of Supplying Toilet Water To Burgeoning Urban Populations—There is little or no available land to accommodate new reservoirs within many cities. The prospect of having one build there galvanizes many of the locals to let their opposition be known to local politicians. Consequently, more and more pristine valleys, such as Hetch Hetchy Valley in the Sierra Nevada of California, which, before it was defiled was equally as beautiful as its next door neighbor, the world famous Yosemite Valley. Hetch Hetchy is now the main water reservoir for San Francisco and it is out of bounds for recreation.
Drain Lines—Pipes that slope from a toilet to (1) a septic tank, (2) to a sewer which discharges into a waste treatment plant, or (3) to a receptacle in a laboratory. Ideally, gravity, augmented by automated pumps, water from other toilets, and water from other indoor sources can propel, i.e. carry, human waste to a waste treatment plant. Toilet manufacturers and inventors use laboratory drain lines, which are seamless and from which about a third of the uppermost structure has been removed so that laboratory personnel can see, measure, and report drain line carry with artificial test media, as described below.
Drain line carry—(1) Is the ability of a given toilet to propel human waste to a sewer, or (2) to propel artificial test media from a toilet to a receptacle in a laboratory so that laboratory personnel can determine whither the toilet can legally be offered for sale in a business or residence. Since solid human waste varies from person to person and over time, it is not readily possible to measure how well it carries. Consequently, the American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME) has devised a laboratory measurement method, defined in section 8.8 of ASME A 112.19.2-2003, which depends on laboratory personnel being able to see and measure how well 100 standard polypropylene balls carry in an seamless pipe which has an inside diameter of 100 mm (4 inches) and a straight run that inclines downward at a 2% angle from the toilet. To be legal to sell a toilet for use in a residence or business with an ASME rating, the toilet must be able to carry the balls a minimum average distance of 12.2 meters (40 feet) with no more than 6 liters (1.6 gallons) of water. As described below, our toilet can carry 100 balls in excess of 18.3 meter (60 feet) with 1.0 to 2.0 liters (0.3 to 0.5 gallons) with a staggered flush. Toilets that exhibit greater carrying power in a laboratory drain linen are prized (A) because they can lower the costs of maintaining standard drain lines, a home or business owner's responsibility, and (B) because they can lower the costs of maintaining, repairing sewers, upgrading sewers and sewage plants, and combatting odor. To combat odor it can cost San Francisco $100 million dollars for five years to pump 8.5 million pounds of bleach into its sewers. The bleach damages its sewers and sewage treatment plants. To repair or enlarge a sewage treatment plant for a city as large as San Francisco can cost billions of dollars.
Dual-Flush Toilet—A toilet that permits a person to use less water for urine than solid human waste.
Flush—To evacuate bowl contents from a toilet bowl into an adjoining drain-line.
Flushometer Valve—A valve that controls passage of pressurized water to a toilet bowl.
Frustum-shaped Bowl—a bowl having an inside surface without concavities or convexities inclined so that human waste is less likely to adhere to the surface and more readily detached with less rinse water.
Full Flush—The ability of a given toilet to flush an adjoining drain line. To earn an IAPMO rating a full flush must be able to carry 100 standard polypropylene test balls an average of at least 12.2 meters (40 feet) in an adjoining drain line that slopes downward from the toilet at an angle of 2%. If it cannot, the toilet may not legally be offered for sale in a residence or business. To the best of our knowledge no mechanical trap toilet has earned an IAPMO rating.
Free Fall—Downward movement of bowl contents from a bowl via a waste passageway into an adjoining drain line under no force other that of gravity, there being no thrust or drag other than that of the bowl.
Gallon—One U.S. Gallon—Equivalent to 3.78 liters.
International Association Of Plumbing And Mechanical Operators—IAPMO—A for-profit corporation, headquartered in Ontario, Calif., which rates whether a new toilet brand meets ASME standards. If it does, it receives an IAPMO rating. The market for IAPMO rated toilets and toilets that meet other stringent standards is large, at least ten times greater than that for RV, boat, etc., toilets. For example, at least three or four companies that sell siphon toilets gross more than three billion US dollars a year and thereby have cash flows so large that American Standard Companies sold its toilets at a loss for ten years. According to verbal communication with an ASME engineer and an IAPMO official, inventors and makers periodically submit mechanical trap toilets to IAPMO. So far, no mechanical trap toilet has received an IAPMO rating, and hence may not legally be offered for sale as a residential or business toilet.
Laboratory Drain Line—A drain line, in a private, or for-profit, laboratory, used by inventors and testing authorities for observing the ability of a toilet to carry simulated human waste, such as ASME-rated balls towards, or into a measurement receptacle.
Maintenance Costs of Wasting Water—On-going costs for maintenance, labor, and replacement of leaky upstream and downstream infrastructures. For one large city these costs can exceed hundreds of millions of dollars. The cumulative costs of oil, gas, coal, and energy substitutes needed to pump water to toilets, sometimes hundreds of miles away, and from toilets to waste treatment plants, are vast. These costs and health and welfare losses to air, water, and row crop pollution by electric pumps, leaks, and effluents are growing.
Mechanical-Trap Toilet—A toilet that has a trap that can be opened and closed mechanically with respect to a bottom outlet of a toilet bowl. Our bottom outlet is about 3.25 inches wide, considerably wider than siphon toilets and, when open, it thereby is much less likely to clog. When closed, it can (1) retain water, urine, solid human waste, or (2) artificial test media in the bowl, and (3) prevent potentially volatile toxic or explosive mixtures of gases from entering a bathroom from an adjoining drain line. Our trap has the general shape of a saucer.
Psychological Costs of Wasting Water—The mental harm caused by wasting water. Such psychological detriments can include losing one's neighborhood to a water reservoir or waste water treatment plant or losing opportunities to enjoy pristine terrain, such as valleys, streams, rivers, and countryside. These losses can deprive current and unborn generations.
Rebates—Money paid by water districts in the United States to encourage those who own toilets to replace them with ones that use less water. In addition, as mentioned below, some water districts and cities, such as the City of London, England, exchange tens of thousands of more water-saving toilets to avoid having to borrow and having to spend billions to build new water reservoirs or waste treatment plants or to enlarge old ones.
Reduced Flush—A flush which can expel urine with/or without toilet tissue from a toilet bowl but not feces.
Rinse—An attempt to use water to detach adherent toilet tissue, or solid human waste, from the inside of a toilet bowl.
Siphon And Wash-Down Toilet History—Since the invention of siphon and wash-down toilets about 200 years ago, no significant sanitary toilet authority, or agency, such as today's IAPMO, which protects the health of consumers using toilets and how well the toilets function, has, to the best of our knowledge, has certified a mechanical trap toilet for use in a residence or business.
Spillway—An opening in an upper part of a toilet bowl that permits an over-flowing toilet bowl to discharge into a bathroom. The top of the spillway is the lowest part of Air Gap that can prevent human waste from coming in contact with water outlets. The minimum ASME Air Gap requirement—ASME A 112.1.2.-1991 is 50 mm (2 inches). The European Union minimum is 20 mm (0.8 inch).
Staggered Flush and Drain Line Carry—A staggered flush is a method for enhancing drain line carry using flush water to strike solid human waste, the above mentioned balls, or tofu-filled condoms, from behind while they are moving in a drain line. This enhancement of drain line carry requires an application of a physical principle that states it takes less energy to keep an object in motion than to re-start it once it has come to rest. Our toilet can carry 100 balls an average distance of more than 12 meters (40 feet) with about 1.0 to 2.0 liters of water. It can carry the balls in excess of an average distance of 18.3 meters (60 feet) with about 2.0 to 3.0 liters (0.53 to 0.8 gallons) of water. We are not aware of any prior art toilet that can do this.
Toilet Advocates—Politically Powerful Ecological Interest Groups—Organized groups of people who seek to influence the federal government to enact laws that encourage ever-more water saving toilet technology. These toilet advocates are powerful. In 1992 they persuaded Congress to mandate a full flush may not use more than 6.0 liters (1.6 gallons). Other politically powerful toilet advocates include departments of city, state, and federal governments plus local and regional water districts responsible for financing the construction and maintenance of numerous new, water reservoirs and waste treatment plants needed by burgeoning urban populations. Toilet advocates also include influential public-interest organizations, such as the California Urban Water Council, the Sierra Club, a variety of green organizations, and the water-conservation arms of U.S. cities, states, and federal governments. The also include the federal government itself and numerous city and state governments which must pay for toilet water used by numerous millions of civil servants, students, citizens, and armed personnel. Studies show that regulation of toilets by the United States Government in an attempt to save water, despite objections of makers, plumbers, etc., has had significant adverse impacts on the functional efficiency of conventional toilets.
Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC)—A code that defines minimum functional and material attributes of toilets which can legally be offered for sale in the United States. IAPMO, a for-profit company, headquartered in Ontario, Calif., enforces the UPC for numerous plumbing jurisdictions in Canada and many U.S. states. A committee composed of IAPMO officials, ASME engineers, representatives of toilet companies, toilet jurisdictions, etc., updates the UPC bi-yearly to reflect new plumbing inventions. A maker who wishes to receive a rating for her toilet may submit Interim Guide Criteria to the committee charged with updating the UPC. The maker's criteria should include enough detailed instructions to the UPC Interim Guide Committee how an IAPMO laboratory can test and prove to the satisfaction of the committee that the maker's proposed toilet and its innovation toilet are worthy of further consideration. If the Interim Guide Criteria committee is satisfied, the maker must submit a model of her toilet for rigorous laboratory testing by IAPMO, or an affiliated laboratory. Should the toilet passes all required tests, the committee instructs IAPMO to permit the maker to offer it for sale with its rating in any state, province, or water district that honors the rating. IAPMO informs us it has tested numerous mechanical trap toilets but, to date, none have earned its rating.
Urine—Urine is highly complex aqueous solution of organic chemicals that can corrode many man-made materials.
Toilet Bowl Water-Seal—Enough water in a toilet bowl to prevent volatile toxic sewer gases, at atmospheric pressure, from rising into a bathroom. However, the seal can evaporate and permit sewer gases to invade the bathroom.
Waste Passageway—The part of a toilet between the bottom outlet of a bowl and an adjoining drain line. Normally water in the bottom of the bowl of a siphon or wash-down toilet can prevent potentially toxic and explosive gases from entering bathrooms from adjoining drain lines. However, the water can evaporate and, furthermore, it cannot prevent sewage from backing up from the drain line. Our rotable mechanical trap is normally hermetically sealed against the bottom outlet of our bowl. Consequently, it can prevent potentially toxic and explosive mixtures of sewer gases from entering a bathroom from an adjoining drain line, and can prevent sewage from backing up into the bathroom. The waste passageways of siphon and wash-down toilets are less than optimal.
Wet Spot—A quantity of water in a toilet bowl wide or deep enough to slow the momentum of falling feces. The wet spot can prevent feces from sticking to the bowl, or it may permit them to stick less firmly so that they can be more readily be rinsed off. The Uniform Plumbing Code stipulates that a wet spot should have a surface area equal to, or more, than 123×100 mm (5×4 inches) and be 50 mm (2 inches) or more deep.
Viton—Is an extremely resilient and corrosion resistant elastomer, made and a sold by du Pont under a du Pont Performance Elastomers L.L.C trademark.
BACKGROUND—Water Seals—As mentioned above, a water seal is a quantity of water in a toilet bowl sufficient to prevent volatile sewer gases, at atmospheric pressure from rising into a bathroom. Furthermore, significant pressure or suction in an adjoining drain line can undo a water seal in conventional toilets, so that those nearby are no longer protected from sewer gases. Our toilet does not need a water seal. Water seals are less than optimal.
Prior-Art—Mechanical Trap Toilets—Grech et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 6,397,871,361, Mar. 29, 2005, show a conventional mechanical trap toilet which expels human waste into a black-water holding tank under the floor of an RV, a few inches from its bowl, or a few inches into a lake or sea from a boat.
Prior-art toilets almost exclusively have a plurality of water outlets, each of which is oriented to rinse toilet bowls with pressurized water in roughly the same direction, usually clockwise. For example, the present inventors, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,332,229, Dec. 25, 2001, show a toilet bowl which has at least two water outlets which rinse in the same direction. Huffman et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,715,544, Feb. 10, 1995, show water outlets that rinse in the same and opposite directions. Heinze, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,404,696, Sep. 20, 1983, show one or more multi-channel water outlets that rinse a bowl in three directions, forward, rearward, and downward. Ament, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,167, Jun. 5, 1990, show pressurized water flowing in opposite directions within the rim of a toilet. Brower, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,124, Jun. 23, 1992, shows a toilet bowl rinsed by rotating water outlets. Nakamura et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,145,138, Nov. 14, 2000, show an upper part of a toilet bowl shaped so that pressurized water rinses the bowl in opposite directions. Hargraves, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,075,718, Feb. 28, 1978, shows complex multi-channel high pressure nozzles. Grech '361 patent shows two water outlets. One water outlet automatically jets pressurized water along a ledge (20) on one side of an upper part of a bowl in one direction. Then, the water flows over the edge of the ledge to rinse a remainder of the bowl. The other water outlet automatically rinses a second ledge and the other side of the bowl in a similar manner. However, the water outlets do not efficiently rinse an area of toilet above the ledge. Consequently they can not pass 8.6 Surface Wash Test of ASME A 112.19.2-2003 that requires the bowl be rinsed to one inch (25 ml) below the outlets. The outlets are widely separated at the rear of the toilet consequently they can not rinse the rear of the bowl, where, due to the parallel bi-lobed shape of the human buttocks feces are more apt to adhere. Consequently the configuration of Grech's toilet bowl and its water outlets are less than optimal.
Schnitzler, in Swiss patent #CH10222, Mar. 13, 1898, and Kimble, in U.S. Pat. No. 988,787, Apr. 4, 1911, show toilets having spillways in upper parts of bowls. The spillways can help prevent human waste from overflowing onto floors. However, the spillways are too close to water outlets to meet ASME standard A 112.1.2-1991 which requires that there be a sufficiently wide unobstructed air gap between water in a toilet and water entering from a water supply to prevent contamination of the drinking water in the event of a negative pressure in a conduit that delivers drinkable water to the toilet.
Prior Art—Economic and Ecologic Costs of Toilet Water—Prior-art flush toilets currently use 28% of water used indoors in the U.S. Water reservoirs are required to store water so that there is enough on hand for towns and cities when needed. Waste treatment plants are required for sterilizing sewage and used indoor water. Reservoirs and waste treatment plants can be vast in area and frequently cost one or more billion dollars each. Many citizens do not want them in their neighborhood. Toilets in U.S. commercial buildings use about 1.2 billion gallons (4.6 billion liters) of water a day, the equivalent of the capacity of 48 full-sized water reservoirs a year. It can cost as much to enlarge a water storage reservoir as to build one; it cost US $2 billion to build the Eastside Reservoir to double the storage capacity for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. City and regional water agencies normally borrow the initial money from state governments to build or enlarge water reservoirs and waste treatment plants to accommodate burgeoning urban populations. The state governments in turn borrow from the Federal government. Eventually, taxpayers must repay not only the borrowed billions but interest that can bring their total debt to three times the money borrowed. Current toilets are less than optimal for reducing these financial burdens.
Accordingly, several advantages of one or more aspects of our toilet are (a) a staggered flush that improves drain line carry, (b) no need for a water seal, (c) the bottom outlet of the bowl and the waste passageway are much wider than those of a siphon toilet so that it is correspondingly more unlikely to clog, (5) it can't contaminate drinking water, (6) the bowl is unlikely to over flow onto a bath room, (7) it can meet or surpass all of the historical health and functional advantages of siphon and wash-down toilets, and (8) and is more ecological because it uses much less water per-person-per-day. Furthermore, for all but very small children a maker can customize the toilet comfortably to seat a customer of any height and weight, or customer subset, by omitting gasket 45 in
Further advantages of various aspects will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and accompanying drawings.
In accordance with one aspect, a toilet bowl has a bottom outlet. A sealing ring surrounds the bowl near the bottom outlet. A rotable saucer-shaped seal is positioned adjacent to the bottom outlet at the entrance to a waste passageway. The saucer can be pivoted upward against the sealing ring to hermetically seal the bottom outlet of the bowl. The saucer can be pivoted downward to permit bowl contents to free fall via the waste passageway into an adjoining drain line. An automated two-stage staggered-flush carries human waste or 100 standard balls more efficiently in the adjoining drain line. All parts exposed to urine, feces, or corrosive gas are made of, or coated, by materials resistant to corrosion by the urine, feces, and gas. Moving parts are advantageously mounted with loose tolerances so that they can be operated and the saucer can be opened and closed 75,000 times without the toilet loosing its ability to pass an array of other ASME tests.
As shown in
A gasket 45 is sandwiched between an upper support structure 24 and a flange 44 of a waste passageway 34. The waste passageway is an integral part of the lower structure
A bowl 26 is an integral part of the upper support structure. As shown in
As shown in
Reinforcing ribs 38, shown in
As show in
The shaft 90 emerges (not shown) from the right and left sides of the upper support structure. It is surrounded, in order, from inside out, by a hermetic radial seal 96, a support bushing 100, and a gasket 94.
Shaft 90 is connected to a hub 132. An arm 130 extends from the hub. The distal or free end of arm 130 is connected to one end of a coil spring 50. The other end of the coil spring is connected to a wall of the toilet as also shown in
A second arm 108 extends from hub 132 at an angle of about 130 degrees. 108 is connected to trigger 102. One end of the trigger is formed as catch 112, also shown in
A timing wheel 82 is connected to a timing belt 81, as shown in
Bowl 26 is an integral part of upper support structure 24. The bottom of the bowl 26 protrudes downward through 24.
The upper support structure sits on and is connected to a lower support structure 22. The lower support structure sits on the ground 23 and is connected to an adjoining drain line 36. A waste passageway 34 is an integral part of the lower support structure. Bowl 26 and waste passageway 34 have bottom outlets that are aligned approximately vertically above an inlet to the adjoining drain line. A sealing ring 48 surrounds and is connected to the outside of the bowl near the bottom outlet of the bowl. The sealing ring may be made of compressible material. We currently favor making it of a fluoro-elastomer, sold under the du Pont trademark Viton, the most corrosion proof compressible material currently available.
The frustum-shaped bowl has a front part 28 and a rear part 30. The front part inclines 30 to 50 degrees forward and the rear part 5 to 15 degrees rearward from the vertical. The front and rear parts of the bowl are linear; they do not form convexities or concavities. We currently favor inclining the front part 40 degrees forward and the rear part 10 degrees rearward. As mentioned above, this lack of concavities and convexities (1) helps prevent feces and toilet tissue from sticking to those parts of the bowl and thereby makes them easier to rinse, and (2) permits rinse and flush water to fall with greater momentum.
The saucer-pivoting shaft 90 is connected to plate 49. The plate is connected to stud 140, as shown in
Plate 49, stud 140, and the saucer-shaped seal are shown in their fully open, vertically down positions in
Electric controls 76 and a flushometer valve 54 are located within the accessory compartment 56, as shown in
As show in
As shown in
As shown in
A button 72 and a button 74 are located on top of the rear of the toilet. The buttons are connected to an electric control 76. The electric control is connected to a saucer-rotating motor 79 and to a flushometer valve 54.
The flushometer valve is connected to a water feed 52 which is connected to a source of pressurized water, which is suitable for drinking. The flushometer valve contains a diaphragm (not shown). The diaphragm is connected to a push-rod 80. The push-rod is connected to a push button 78, which is located on top of the toilet, adjacent to buttons 72 and 74. Manually depressing the push button depresses the push-rod and manually opens the flushometer valve.
The flushometer valve is connected to water conduits 60. The water conduits run forward on the outside of both sides of the toilet bowl. At least two of the water conduits enter the bowl from opposite directions adjacent to each other. The water conduits end inside of the bowl as water outlets 62. Thus, the water outlets point in opposite directions the inside of the bowl.
A spillway aperture 64 is provided in an upper front part of the toilet bowl. As mentioned below, there sufficient distance between the spillway aperture and the water outlets to permit bowl contents to flow out of the bowl without coming into contact with the water outlets or, in the event of a drop in pressure in the pressurized water source, being sucked into water that is suitable for drinking. An anti-splash ledge 66 is connected to the bottom of the spillway to prevent turbulent rinse water from leaving the bowl.
The bowl has a front 28 and a rear part 30 and a bottom outlet 32.
There is a spillway aperture 64 in the top of the front part of the bowl. The bowl below the spillway is indented to form an anti-splash ledge 66. The anti-splash ledge confines rinse water to the bowl. Thus, it prevents rinse water from splashing out the front of the bowl where rinsing is particularly strong.
At least two water conduits 60 enter the bowl from opposite directions. The water conduits end as adjacent water outlets 62 that point in opposite directions so that they can rinse areas of the bowl below, between, and beyond the outlets, and with particular turbulence towards the front and rear mid-lines of the bowl where, due to the bi-lobed configuration of the human buttock, feces are prone to adhere.
As shown in
A saucer-pivoting shaft 90 is connected to plate 49. Plate 49 is connected to stud 140. The stud is welded to a rigid plate 134 which is molded within a flat part of a saucer-shaped seal, a saucer. The rigid plate stiffens the saucer. The periphery of the saucer inclines upward and outward from the flat part of the saucer. A washer and wave washer 138 and a nut and jam nut 136 secure plate 47 to the stud.
The plate 49 and the saucer are shown pivoted clockwise, fully closed, upward, so that the peripheral part of the saucer is hermetically compressed against the sealing ring.
The sealing ring is made of a resilient material. We currently favor Viton, a Du Pont product. As shown in
A sprocket on a drive motor (not shown) is connected to a notched timing belt 81. The belt is connected to a notched timing wheel 82. Arm 86 and cam 84 are connected to 82. One end of main spring 50 is fastened to a wall of the toilet; the other end (not shown) is behind the timing wheel.
Arm 108 protrudes below the timing wheel. Arm 108 is rotably connected to trigger 102. One end of the trigger is formed as catch 112. The other end of the trigger is connected to the bottom of trigger-centering spring 111. The top of the trigger-centering spring is connected to arm 108. An inside surface of arm 108 is connected to roller 109.
The right end of an arm 114 is rotably attached to a wall of the toilet 141. The other end of arm 114 is free. Roller 115 is connected the outside of arm 114. An adjusting screw 120 is welded to arm 114. The adjusting screw is connected to bracket spring 122. 122 is connected to bracket 124. The bracket is fastened to wall of the toilet. The spring urges arm 114 upwards against roller 109 on 108, and a rear end of trigger 102 upward. An electric switch 126 is connected to a wall of the toilet and to electric control 76, as shown in
One end of arm 108 is connected to hub 132 and the other end to roller 109. Arm 130 is connected to one end of fully extended main spring 50. The other end of the main spring is anchored to a wall 141 of the toilet. The main spring urges 130 and hub 132 counter-clockwise and lock arm 114 and arm 108 together and thereby lock the saucer in its normal position, fully closed.
The main spring can be any mechanical, pneumatic, or magnet springs that opens the saucer fast enough to permit bowl contents to free fall into an adjoining drain line. We currently favor making the main spring a coil spring. The speed with which the spring snaps open depends on the inertia of the above mentioned multi-part mechanism for opening the saucer and on the strength of the spring. We currently favor having the saucer snap open within half of a second.
Arm 130 is connected to hub 132. Hub 132 surrounds a saucer-pivoting shaft 90. The hub is connected to a key 91. The key is keyed to shaft 90 so that, when arm 108 rotates clockwise, the hub and the saucer-pivoting shaft rotate clockwise and thereby hermetically compress the saucer-shaped seal against the sealing ring, Conversely, when the main spring rotates hub 132 counter-clockwise, the hub rotates shaft 90 counter-clockwise and thereby rotates the saucer-shaped seal open, as shown in
Roller 109 is connected to an inside lower part of arm 108. The free end of arm 114 is formed as catch 116. Roller 109 is engaged in catch 116.
Trigger-centering spring 110 is connected to trigger 102 and to arm 108. The spring urges trigger 102 to rotate to a position that is roughly at a 90° angle to arm 108.
Main spring 50 is fully contracted. Main spring 50 urged arm 130, hub 132, and arm 108 counter-clockwise so that roller 109 on arm 108 no longer engages catch 112 on arm 114. Consequently, the main spring causes arm 108 and trigger 102 to a roughly horizontal position.
As show in
Arm 86 is connected to timing wheel 82. Clockwise rotation of the timing wheel engages catch 87 on arm 86 against catch 112 on trigger arm 102 to rotate the trigger arm clockwise, as shown by an arrow in
Catch 112 on 102 is disengaged from catch 87 on arm 86. Bracket spring 122 urges adjusting screw 120 upward against the rear end of the trigger arm. Upward pressure by spring 122 on screw 120 rotates the rear end of arm 102 upward and the front end of 102 downward. The bracket spring urges the free front end of arm 114 upwards to lock against roller 109 and thereby locks the mechanism for rotating the saucer in its fully closed position.
Consequently the toilet is ready (1) to expel urine or (2) solid human waste to a sewer, or (3) to test its ability to carry 100 test balls, or sausages, aka condoms filled with tofu in an adjoining laboratory drain line.
Electric control 76 opens flushometer valve 54 for a predetermined time, preferably about 100 milliseconds, to permit pressurized water to emerge from opposing water outlets 62 to create an extensive and turbulent rinse pattern, to detach urine from the wall of the bowl, as shown in
Depression of button 72 also actuates electric control to start saucer opening and closing motor 79 to rotate clockwise until the saucer is fully open as follows: Clockwise rotation of motor 79 rotates timing belt 81 clockwise. Clockwise rotation of 81 rotates timing wheel clockwise. Continued clockwise rotation of the timing wheel causes cam 84 to depress roller 115. Depression of roller 115 depresses the front end of arm 114. Depression of the front end of arm 114 disengages catch 87 on arm 86 from catch 11 on arm 102 and thereby causes main spring 50 to snap closed. Relaxation of main spring 50 snaps arm 130 on 132 counter clockwise.
Counter clockwise rotation of hub 132 rotates key 91 on saucer pivoting shaft 90 counter clockwise and snaps arm 108 counter clockwise to roughly horizontal position as shown in
Further clockwise rotation of timing wheel 82 by motor 79 closes the saucer as follows:
Wheel 82 rotates arm 84 rotates clockwise. Clockwise rotation of 84 depresses roller 115 on arm 114. Depression of arm 114 engages catch 87 on arm 86 with catch 112 on trigger 102 and presses the rear end of trigger 102 against bracket spring 112 so the saucer is fully closed, as shown in
Expelling Solid Human Waste to a Sewer with a Staggered Flush—
Since there is normally no water in the bowl, a wet spot is required to cushion falling feces to prevent them from unduly adhering to the bowl. We currently favor a 1.00-liter (0.25 gallon) wet spot. It is about 85 mm (3.45 inches) deep and has a surface area of about 140 mm by 165 mm (5.75 by 6.75 inches). It exceeds minimum ASME standards for wet spots.
To create the above mentioned wet spot a user depresses manual push button 74 for long enough to fill the bowl to a 1.0 liter (0.25 gallon) mark, not shown. If the above 1.00 liter (0.25 gallon) wet spot does not suit a user, she can create a larger one as follows;
She depresses push button 78, shown in
Later, the user can experiment with progressively smaller wet spots. Eventually she may find an ecologically desirable 1.0 (0.25 gallon) wet spot is adequate.
When ready to expel solid human waste to a sewer, the user depresses automated button 74 to actuate a staggered flush, as summarized in chart
Flushometer valve opens for a predetermined time, preferably about 750 milliseconds, to rinse the bowl free of solid human waste with about 1.0 to 2.0 liters (0.25 to 0.50 gallons) of water.
Motor 79 rotates the timing belt and the timing wheel clockwise until the saucer has opened to its fully down position, as described in detail above. Opening the saucer permits the wet spot plus, the water used to rinse the bowl, and solid human waste to free fall into the adjoining drain line.
While the saucer is open and the solid human waste is still moving in the drain line, the flushometer valve automatically opens again for a predetermined time, preferably about 750 milliseconds, to introduce additional water, about 1.0 to 2.0 liters (0.25 to 0.5 gallons) into the drain line behind the moving solid waste. While the saucer is still open, the flushometer valve opens for a predetermined time, preferably about one and half seconds to release a second quantity of water, about 3.0 liters (0.75 gallons) into the drain line while the solid human waste is still moving, for a total consumption of about 6.0 to 8 liters, (1.25 to 2.0 gallons).
Releasing the above mentioned second quantity of water into the drain line while the solid human waste is still moving, carries the solid waste further than if both quantities of water were to enter the drain line together.
The saucer automatically closes as described in detail above. The operation for expelling solid human waste to a sewer with a staggered flush is terminated. The toilet is ready for the next user.
Note, since the frustum shaped bowl becomes progressively narrows from top to bottom outlet, the free-falling feces, toilet tissue, urine, and wet spot converge so that their total diameter becomes considerably less than that of the waste passageway they transit. Consequently, they are unlikely to adhere to the waste passageway.
How to Test the Ability of Our Toilet to Carry ASME-Rated Plastic Balls in a Laboratory Drain Line with a Staggered Flush—
A tester inserts 100 plastic balls into the normally empty bowl of the toilet and actuates button 74. Button 74 actuates motor 70 to open the saucer, as described in above, so that the balls free-fall into an adjoining laboratory drain line. While the saucer is open, flushometer valve 54 opens for about 750 milliseconds to release a predetermined amount of water into the drain line to impart more momentum to the balls. After about a 750 millisecond delay, while the balls are moving in the drain line, motor 70 re-opens flushometer valve for about 1.5 seconds to release pressurized water into the drain line to impart additional momentum to the balls, and, thus carry them more efficiently. Then, the flushometer valve closes and the saucer closes to its normal closed vertically upright position. The motor stops. The operation is terminated and the toilet is immediately available for additional operations. We are not away of any toilet In the 4500 years of toilet history that automatically used a staggered flush to improve drain line carry or to save water.
As mentioned above, paragraph 8.8 of ASME brochure A112. 19.2-2003 states that toilets that may be legally offered for sale in residences and business with an IAPMO rating in the US and Canada on condition they can carry 100 balls an average of 12.2 meters (40 feet), or more, with 6.0 liters (1.6 gallons) or less of water. Our toilet can carry 100 balls in excess of 18.3 meters (60 feet) with about 1.00 to 2.00 liters (0.3 to 0.5 gallons) of water. We are not aware of any prior-art toilet that can carry them that far with less than 6.0 liters (1.6 gallons).
Some dual-flush siphon and wash-down toilets use about 18 liters (4.76 gallons) per-person-per-day when conventionally used. Most single-flush siphon toilets, when used as recommended by their makers and most single flush wash-down toilets use about 30.0 liters (8.0 gallons) per person per day. Our toilet uses about 6 to 8 liters (1.25 to 2.0 gallons) per day per person when used as recommended.
Accordingly, the reader will appreciate various aspects of our toilet have several advantages such as water efficiency and cleanliness. For example, the steep-sided bowl, having none of the conventional convexities and concavities helps prevent feces from adhering to the bowl. Opposing water outlets rinse the bowl most turbulently where feces are more prone to adhere. Thus, the outlets are more water efficient and the bowl more likely to remain clean. Furthermore, urine adherent to the bowl can be rinsed into the drain line with about 250 ml (0.07 gallon) of water.
The saucer is normally hermetically compressed against the bowl, so that bowl contents remain in the bowl and sewer gases remain in the sewer. The saucer can be opened and then hermetically closed about 75,000 times.
The saucer opens with sufficient rapidity that urine, feces, and or toilet tissue in the bowl can free fall into an adjoining drain line. Thus, unlike current indoor toilets, a wet spot is not necessary when a user merely urinates.
If the toilet is provided in a public bathroom, a laser beam can be directed across the bathroom's doorway so that, whenever a user leaves without flushing, the interruption of the beam will automatically trigger the above operation for flushing solid waste.
The manual push button can be repeatedly actuated to accumulate up to seven liters of water in the bowl to flush toilet tissue that may come rest in the drain line adjoining a business because the drain line may not regularly be flushed by showers, dish washers, clothes washers, sinks, etc., as are drain lines adjoining residences; toilets use less than 30% of water used indoors in residences.
Although the above description contains many specificities these should not be construed as limiting the scope of our toilet but as illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments. Many additional ramifications are possible. For example, the drive motor can be directly connected to the timing-wheel assembly, thus eliminating the need for and expense of a timing belt. The toilet can have (use) a battery capable of powering several thousand automated flushes during a power outage or in buildings not provided with electric power. The battery can automatically be recharged from the same power source that powers electric controls 76 so that the battery remains charged.
For buyers whose wet spot needs are accommodated by 1 liter (0.25-gallon) of water, a maker can dispense with the manual push button, the manual push rod, and the diaphragm in the flushometer valve, thereby reducing its manufacturing costs.
The waste passageway and lower support structure can be up to about 300 mm (12 inches) taller. A manufacture can sell such tall toilets to burgeoning populations for whom today's toilets are uncomfortably low and to myriads of people afflicted with a wide variety of painful disabilities that hamper them when they sit on conventional toilets.
The main spring can be any of a variety of mechanical, pneumatic, or magnetic springs. We currently favor a coil spring.
A variety of shock absorbers can be used to dampen an upward thrust of arm 108 and thereby prevent the main spring from shocking and damaging moving parts which open and close the saucer. This will extend the useful life of these parts.
In lieu of a fluoro-elastomer, the sealing ring can be made of a variety other resilient materials, such as varieties of rubber that can be compressed many times and promptly rebound to their pre-compression state. Instead of the saucer compressing the point of an apex, it can compress a resilient fold.
The seat, rim, and cover can be conventionally sloped for initial buyer acceptance.
The seat, bowl, and waste passageway can be made of a variety of corrosion resistant materials which include, but are not limited, to vitreous china, plastics, metals, or anodized aluminum coated with PTFE.
The weight of a toilet is important to makers, distributors, plumbers, and handy owners. The bowl, upper support, waste passageway, and lower support structure can be made of light corrosive-resistant plastics, or anodized aluminum coated with PTFE. This will reduce the weight of our toilet to about half that of current indoor toilets.
If the toilet is destined for use by males only, a maker can delete the supplemental flush, and thereby save about 4.00 liters (1.0 gallon) of water per-person-per-day.
The bowl and waste passageway can be made of vitreous china, the surface of which has a finish which repels urine, so that no rinsing of urine is required. Such a finish permits saving of about 250 ml (0.07 gallon) of water each time a male uses the toilet for urination alone.
Thus, the scope is determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given.
“This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 12/151,015, Filed May 2, 2008.”
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 12151015 | May 2008 | US |
| Child | 13066891 | US |
