Baths – closets – sinks – and spittoons – Dry closets – Enclosed receptacle type
Reexamination Certificate
1996-10-28
2001-03-13
Phillips, Charles E. (Department: 3751)
Baths, closets, sinks, and spittoons
Dry closets
Enclosed receptacle type
Reexamination Certificate
active
06199222
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
This invention relates to a combined toilet and waste holding tank used for portable, outdoor-type toilets.
Conventional portable toilets comprise a cabana or housing within which a toilet and waste holding tank is mounted. Typically, cabanas are made of large sheets of plastic which are thermo-formed or otherwise bent and connected together to form rear and side walls, a front wall providing a doorway and door, a roof and floor. The cabana or housing forms an enclosure having a relatively small floor space.
Usually, a relatively large size waste material holding tank is positioned within the cabana and may occupy roughly one half of the floor space. Conventionally, the upper cover or panel of the tank, is provided with a toilet opening over which a toilet seat and cover is positioned. Commonly, a urinal construction is fastened to a wall, within the cabana, along side of the tank and, in some installations, a sink or wash bowl may also be provided.
Examples of such types of portable toilets, including their cabanas and toilet and waste tank constructions, are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,447,167, issued Jun. 3, 1969 to David B. Harding, for a Portable Toilet Cabana; U.S. Pat. No. 3,835,480, issued Sep. 17, 1974 to George W. Harding for a Chemical Toilet Cabana; U.S. Pat. No. 4,031,572, issued Jun. 28, 1977, to George W. Harding for a Chemical Toilet Cabana Shell Section; U.S. Pat. No. 4,577,351, issued Mar. 25, 1986, to George W. Harding for a Portable Toilet Cabana; U.S. Pat. No. 4,831,671, issued May 23, 1989 to George W. Harding for a Portable Toilet Cabana and U.S. Pat. No. 4,918,765, issued Apr. 24, 1990 to George W. Harding for a Portable Toilet Cabana.
Another example of a combined toilet and waste holding tank is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,435,464, issued on Apr. 1, 1969 to David B. Harding for a Portable Toilet. This patent discloses a tank having a cover upon which a toilet construction is formed so that the tank may be used as a toilet as well as a static waste collector. In this construction, as in comparable outdoor toilet constructions, the toilet waste material is removed from time to time by pumping the material, through a hose, from the tank into the collection tank of a waste removal truck.
While the types of combined toilets and tanks disclosed, for example, in the foregoing patents, are satisfactory, it would be desirable to make them more user-friendly for both men and women and to better utilize or make available more of the limited space commonly provided within a toilet cabana. Thus, this present invention relates to an improved combined toilet and waste-holding tank as will be further described below.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
This invention contemplates a combined toilet and waste material holding tank for use within outdoor, portable toilet cabanas or housings. The tank is shaped to fit between the cabana side walls and against the rear wall thereof so as to occupy roughly one-half of the floor space of the cabana. A ring-like shaped toilet construction is formed on the upper cover panel of the tank and opens into the tank. However, the toilet includes a forward, partial bowl-like portion which is molded or formed on the forward wall of the tank and extends forwardly. In addition, the toilet construction has a central axis which is acutely angled relative to the central, front to rear, axis of the cabana and tank. Thus, the toilet, which may be roughly oval in shape, is generally angled from a rear corner of the cabana towards the opposite, front corner. Further, the toilet construction is offset relative to the central axis of the cabana so that most, or all, of the toilet is arranged on one side of the axis of the cabana, where it is nearer to one of the side walls than to the opposite side wall.
Preferably, the front wall of the tank has a depressed center portion which is relatively flat and is arranged at an angle to the cabana central axis, but perpendicular to the central axis of the toilet construction. Thus, the bowl-shaped portion of the toilet, which extends forwardly of that wall section, has its forward-most point approximately equally spaced from the angled front wall section, on both sides of the toilet bowl portion.
With this toilet and tank construction, because of the forwardly extending bowl portion of the toilet, the toilet can provide a substitute for a urinal and is user friendly to both male and female users. In addition, the angularity of the toilet, that is, its axial angularity relative to the center line of the cabana, and its offset location relative to the center line, substantially increases the amount of space available to an occupant in using the toilet. In effect, the usable floor space is substantially increased without changing the dimensions of the cabana or its floor.
Further, it is contemplated to store and ship such combined toilet and waste material tanks separately from a cabana in order to reduce shipping costs, storage facility space and the like. Consequently, with this offset toilet arrangement, a pair of tanks can be nested together, front face to front face, with their respective toilet bowl portions nesting, side by side, on opposite sides of the tank central axes, within the depressed and angled front wall sections. Where desired, a second, similarly nested pair can be stacked upon the first pair and all of these tanks can be held together by suitable conventional strapping. Thus, the tanks can be shipped in groups of two or four. The nesting of the tanks tend to reinforce or protect them against damage due to impact incurred in the shipping. The tanks are constructed in such a manner as to be easily installed and removed from an assembled cabana when desired.
One object of this invention is to provide a combined toilet and waste material storage tank for use within portable toilet cabanas, which increases the usable floor space and which facilitates convenient unisex usage of the unit.
Another object of this invention is to provide a toilet and waste material storage tank construction which can eliminate the need for a separate urinal within an outdoor portable toilet cabana.
Still a further object of this invention is to provide a combined toilet and waste material storage tank construction which permits bundling or nesting of pairs of such tanks for storage and shipment separately from their cabanas so as to reduce the volume of space needed for shipping or storage purposes.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide an inexpensive, easily used and easily installed and serviceable toilet and waste tank unit which is easy to clean and which more efficiently utilizes the space within a typical portable toilet cabana.
These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent upon reading the following description, of which the attached drawings form a part.
REFERENCES:
patent: 432461 (1890-07-01), Warton et al.
patent: 3074076 (1963-01-01), Kersten
patent: 4305164 (1981-12-01), Sargent et al.
patent: 5251342 (1993-10-01), Sansom et al.
patent: 2236712 (1973-02-01), None
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