Baths – closets – sinks – and spittoons – Dry closets – Receptacle type
Patent
1999-03-26
2000-08-15
Eloshway, Charles R.
Baths, closets, sinks, and spittoons
Dry closets
Receptacle type
4449, 4471, 4DIG19, A47K 1102
Patent
active
061016411
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a method of waste removal to be used with dry toilets with disposable bowl lining material.
BACKGROUND
Toilets which cannot be connected to sewer mains or sewage treatment equipment usually have storage tanks which hold the accumulated waste until such time as it is convenient to pump the waste into a tanker truck for transport to another location where sewage processing is available. This is a common procedure for mobile toilets as for example toilets installed in commercial airliners. Airliner toilets flush by using recirculated chemically treated waste water or by using a small amount of fresh water assisted by the pull of a vacuum. The waste is either stored in tanks beneath each toilet or in remote tanks which hold the waste from several toilets. These tanks can be accessed through connections in the service panels underneath the plane. When the plane is serviced the waste water is drained or pumped into a tanker truck connected at the service panels.
The weight of water used to flush toilets and the weight of the associated tanks and pipes is undesirable in an aircraft since it reduces the available payload. The weight of water used in each recirculating airline toilet is approximately 68 kg. The weight of water required to operate a vacuum toilet during a long flight is approximately 41 kg. A dry toilet which `flushes` using a thin bowl liner film as described in International Application No. PCT/US95/03004 uses no water but instead uses 5 grams of plastic film per flush or approximately 0.6 kg during a long flight. In an airliner with ten toilets this could result in an approximate weight saving of 400 to 700 kg. There would also be additional weight savings from the elimination of equipment required to handle and store waste water.
The weight saving advantage of a dry toilet is offset by the difficulty of removing the toilet waste conveniently from positions outside the plane. The dry toilet waste combined with plastic film will not ordinarily flow through pipes to the service panel locations. In the absence of flushing water the film as well as other solid waste will cling to the walls of a pipe and will not be easily dislodged by gravity or by airflow.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
The inability of dry toilet waste to flow through pipes can be overcome by the present invention which provides a means by which waste from a dry, film-lined toilet can be processed so as to be readily transmitted through pipes to remote locations without the use of water. This is accomplished by apparatus which compresses the liner material and the solid waste from each flush into a wad which expands when inserted into the pipe. This expanded wad can be pushed along the pipe by the next wad and in turn by subsequent wads that are inserted in the pipe behind it. If the expanded wad conforms well to the sides of the pipe it will form a seal allowing the wads to be pushed through the pipe by air pressure. To form an effective air seal and be transmissible through pipe by air pressure the wad must have elasticity so that it can hold its shape and maintain light contact against the walls of the pipe. This elasticity results from the mechanical properties of the thin liner material which surrounds the solid waste and which when crumpled forms the bulk of the wad. For example, a rubber material would have too much elasticity and would unravel whereas metal foil would have too little elasticity and would not expand. A material such as high density polyethylene film has been found to be sufficiently deformable to retain the wad shape and has enough residual elastic expansion to effect an air seal.
A wad containing any significant amount of free liquid waste could collapse from the pressure of the liquid and lose its ability to seal the pipe. Therefore the toilet apparatus that forms the wad must first have means to drain liquid waste from within the liner before the wad is formed. This could be done firstly with a toilet bowl having a sloped bottom portion, as shown in PCT/US95/03004
REFERENCES:
patent: 3457567 (1969-07-01), Criss
patent: 4209034 (1980-06-01), Michael
patent: 4346002 (1982-08-01), Petzinger
patent: 4561132 (1985-12-01), Lew et al.
patent: 5193231 (1993-03-01), Stender
patent: 5884346 (1999-03-01), Hengi
Hawkins James A.
Hawkins Robert D.
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