CA1156801A - Portable toilet - Google Patents
Portable toiletInfo
- Publication number
- CA1156801A CA1156801A CA000379973A CA379973A CA1156801A CA 1156801 A CA1156801 A CA 1156801A CA 000379973 A CA000379973 A CA 000379973A CA 379973 A CA379973 A CA 379973A CA 1156801 A CA1156801 A CA 1156801A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- holding tank
- toilet
- bowl unit
- latch
- keeper
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A two-piece portable toilet is disclosed and includes a bowl unit supported on a holding tank. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the bowl unit and holding tank are coupled together by a latch at the back of the bowl unit which snap fits with a keeper on the holding tank in response to downward pressure on the bowl unit at the position of the latch. At the front of the toilet forwardly extending projections on the bowl unit engage in complementary sockets on the holding tank. The keeper on the holding tank forms a handle by which the tank can be carried and the tank is shaped to define a passageway behind the keeper.
A two-piece portable toilet is disclosed and includes a bowl unit supported on a holding tank. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the bowl unit and holding tank are coupled together by a latch at the back of the bowl unit which snap fits with a keeper on the holding tank in response to downward pressure on the bowl unit at the position of the latch. At the front of the toilet forwardly extending projections on the bowl unit engage in complementary sockets on the holding tank. The keeper on the holding tank forms a handle by which the tank can be carried and the tank is shaped to define a passageway behind the keeper.
Description
~5~
This invention relates generally to portable toilets. More particularly, the invention is concerned with toilets of the type which are often referred to as "two-piece" portable toilets and which comprise a bowl unit detacha~ly secured to and supported by a holding tank. The bowl unit includes a bowl having an outlet which communi-cates with an inlet at the top of the holding tank. The holding tank is provided with a valve mechanism which nor-mally closes the inlet but which can be opened to allow waste to enter the holding tank from the bowl. The holding tank is designed to be portable so that it can be readily transported for emptying after the bowl unit has been de-tached.
Various proposals have previously been made for securing the holding tank and bowl unit together. Forexample, in the toilet disclosed in our United States Patent No. 4,091,475 over-centre clips are use~ for securing the bowl unit to the holding tank. A clasp mechanism located between the bowl l~nit ancl the holding tank is disclosed in United States Patent No. 3,949,-~30 (Miller et al.). United States Patent No. 4,180~876 (Sargent et al.) discloses a releasable clamping arrarlgement for securing the bowl unit to the holding tank. In this case, the bowl unit is hinged to the holding tank at the front and a clasp m~chanism is provided adjacent to the rear of the toilet. This mechanism includes a strap secured to the underside of the bowl unit for transverse sliding move-$~
ment and adapted to engage a retention member which pro-trudes upwardly from the holding tank. The retention member has an enlarged head which co-operates with the strap as it move~ transversely, to hold the two parts of the toilet together. The opening of the strap is keyhole-shaped so that the retention member can be disengaged from the strap. Movement of the strap is effected by a small handle which protrudes from the rear of the toilet. In practice, this mechanism is somewhat inconvenient in that the user must reach down to the back of the toilet, locate the strap handle, and move the handle laterall~ in order to disengage the two parts of the toilet. Also, the mechanism may be somewhat balky in that the strap may not always move easily. Also, there may be a problem in locating the retention member in the keyhole-shaped opening in the strap because these components will be located be-tween the respective upper and lower surfaces of the holding tank and bowl unit and will not be visible to the user.
An object of the present invention is to provide a two-piece portable toilet having an improved coupling arrangement between the bowl unit and the holding tank.
According to the invention there is provided a two~piece portable toilet including a bowl unit and holding tank.
The bowl unit has a toilet bowl with an outlet at the lower end of the unit and the holding tank is adapted to support the bowl unit and has an upper wall including an inlet co-operable with the bowl outlet when the bowl unit is supported on the tank. Valve means is carried by the holding tank and normally closes the inlet hut is operable to permit waste to entre the holding tank at appropriate times. Means disengageably coupling the bowl unit and holding tank are provided and include at least one latch and keeper adapted to snap fit together in response to downward pressure applied to the bowl unit in the vicinity of the latch and keeper. The latch is accessible from externally of the toilet and is adapted to be manually disengaged from the keeper when the holding tank and bowl unit are to be separated.
The coupling means provided by the invention have the siynificant advantage that accessibility of the latch member from externally of the toilet is not necessary to engage the latch and keeper.
In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention b~ way of example, and in which:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view from the front of a two-piece portable toilet according to a preferred embodi-ment or the invention, in which the bowl unit i~ shown in an exploded position above the holding tank;
Fig. 2 is an exploded rear perspective view corresponding to Fig. l; and, Fig. 3 is a side elevation, partly in section, showing -the bowl unit and holding tank coupled together as i~ the assembled toilet.
In the drawings, the toilet is generally indicated by reference 20 and includes a bowl unit 22 and a holding tank 24. The bowl unit includes a toilet bowl 26 having an outlet at the lower end of the ~owl unit, indicated in dotted outline at 28. The holding tank 24 is adapted to support the bowl unit when the toilet is assembled although the bowl unit is shown in an exploded position in Figs. l and 2. The holding tank has an upper wall generally in-dicated by reference 30 which includes an lnlet 32 co-operable with bowl outlet 28 (see Fig. 3) when the bowl unit is supported on the holding tank.
~ eference numeral 34 generally indicates valve means disposed inside the holding tank and arranged to normally close the holding tank inlet but operable to per-mit wastes to entre the holding tank at appropriate times.
The bowl unit and holding tank are normally coupled together as shown in Fig. 3 by disengageable coupling means including snap lock latch and keeper and interengageable coupling formations. The latch and keeper are best seen in Figs. 2 and 3; the latch is denoted by reference numeral 36 and the keeper by reference numeral 38. The coupling formations are best shown by Figs. l and 3 and in the illustrated embodiments take the form of a pair of projections 40 which extend forwardly from the front of the bowl unit adjacent its lower end, and a pair of complementary sockets 42 which project upwardly from the holding tank. One of the sockets 42 and the correspondin~
projection 40 are ~isible in side elevation in Fig. 3 and it will he seen that projection 40 is of generally triangu-lar shape in cross--section and is received in a complementary shaped recess 44 in socket 42~
By virtue of this shaping, the formations ~0 and 42 prevent separation o~ the bowl unit and tank in a direc-tion normal to a general plane (denoted P) between the bowl unit and holding tank when the latch 36 and keeper 38 are engaged. At the same time, the fact that the bowl outlet 28 is received in holding tank inlet 3Z prevents lateral movement of bowl unit and holding tank with respect to one another. However, if the latch 36 ls disen~aged ~rom keeper 38, bowl unit 22 can be lifted from the back by an extent suf~icient to withdraw ou~.let 58 ~rom tank inlet 32 so that the formations 40 and ~2 can then disengage ~rom one another and allow the bowl unit and holding tank to be separate. Tank 24 can then be removed for emptying. The bowl unit can subsequently be replaced on the holding tank and the pr~jections 40 re-engaged in the sockets 42 while the howl unit is raised slightly at the rear; subsequently, the bowl unit is simply moved downwardly at the rear so that bowl outlet 28 engages in inlet 32 and the latch re-engage.
Latch 36 and keeper 38 are disposed so that the latch is accessible at a side of the assembled toilet, in this case, the rear side. The coupling ~ormations 40 and - 7 ~
42 are positioned at a side of the holding tank inlet 32 opposite to the latch and keeper, in this case, adjacent the front of the toiletO In this way, the holding tank and bowl unit are held together at two locations disposed on respectively opposite sides of the holding tank inlet, so as to ensure good sealing of outlet 28 and inlet 32.
The particular arrangernent shown in the drawings has been found to be eminently satisfactory in practice although it will be appreciated that, within the broad scope of the invention, the arrangement may be varied. For example, in some cases, it might be desirable to move the formations 40 and 42 inwardly from the front of the toilet, or to position the latch and keeper at one lateral side of the toilet and the formations 40 and 42 adjacent the opposite side Referring now more particularly to Figs. 2 an~ 3, it will be seen that latch 36 takes the form o a relative-ly wide strip, the cross-sectional shape of this can be seen in Fig. 3. The latch is moulded in a plastic material which is relatively rigid and yet flexible and which has a plastic memory. In this embodiment, an acetal resin material is used. The latch is secured to the underside of the bowl unit by three screws received in a suitable housing moulded into the structure of the bowl unit. One of these screws is vlsible at 46 in Fig. 3. With con-tinued reference to that view, it will be seen that the latch includes a base portion 36a through which the securing ~6~
screws extend. The remainder of the strip forms the latch proper and normally extends generally vertically downwards from bowl unit 22.
Xeeper 38 takes the form of a bar or bridge 4~
which is integrall,v moulded as part of the holding tank and is disposed above the le~el of the upper wall of the tank, as best shown by Fig. 2. Referring back to Fig. 3, it will be seen that the cross-sectional shape of latch 36 is such as to include a rearwardly directed ledge or rib 50 which engages below bar 48 when the latch is in its eng~ged position and a sloping "cam" surface 51 below this rib.
Cam surface 51 co-operates with the outer edge of the keeper so that the latch is deflected outwardly (as indi-cated in ghost ol~tline~ by the keeper when downward pres-sure is applied to the bowl unit in the vicinity of thelatch and keeper. The plastic memory of the latch material will then cause the latch to snap inwardly below the keeper.
Latch 36 extends outwardly and downwardly below rib 15 (see Fiy. 2) and defines a lip 36b whic'n acts as a finger grip for facilitating movement o~ the latch. Thus, the latch is shown in Figs. 2 and 3 in the position it occupies when engaged with the keeper and it will be appreciated that a user can simply reach down and grasp below lip 36c and pull the latch outwardly to disengage the latch. When the bowl unit is in position on the holding tank but the latch is not engaged, such engagement can be simply effected by applying slight downward pressure - 9 ~
on the bowl unit in the vicinity of the latch. The latch is normally disposed substantially flush with the rear sur-face of the toilet by virtue of being located in a recess 52 moulded into the rear of the bowl adjacent its edge.
Keeper bar 48 is similarly disposed inwardly from the rear face of the holding tank 24 and it will be seen from a comparison of Figs. 2 and 3 that the holding tank is in fact moulded to define an arcuate shaped passageway 54 which extends from the rear face of the holding tank in-wardly around keeper 38 and opens into the top wall of the holding tank. The shape of this passageway is best seen in Fig. 3 and it will be seen that its lower wall is de-fined by part of the top wall of the holding tank (denoted 30a) and that the upper wall defining the passageway is formed by an arcuate shaped moulded panel section 56 which extends downwardly from keeper bar 48 to the rear end face of the holding tank. The purpose of this design is to provide a grip or handle by which the holding tank can conveniently be carried so as to facilitate transportation of the tank for emptying. Thus, after latch 36 has been released, the bowl unit can be lifted off the holding tank and the ~ser can then insert his hand into passageway 54 either from the rear end face of the holding tank, or pre-ferably from above (so that the tank valve will be held away from the person's legs during carrying). The handle formed by keeper 38 can then be grasped and used for carrying the holding tank.
Bowl unit 22 is essentially of conventional con-struction apart from the projections 40 and latch 36 and constructional details of the ~owl unit have therefore been omitted. For present purposes it is sufficient to note that the bowl unit also includes a seat 58 which surrounds the mouth of the bowl 26, and a hinged lid 60 which can be raised and lowered so that the top of the bowl can be covered when the toilet is not in use. The bowl unit also defines, around bowl 26, a reservoir for flushing liquid and a manually operable pump 26 is provided for dispensing flushing liquid into the bowl. The liquid then leaves the bowl through outlet 28 along with the waste being flushed from the toilet. Reference 64 indicates a cap for the filling orifice of the reservoir.
Bowl unit 22 is manufactured as the number of plastic mouldings which are secured togethe.r by adhesive again as is conventional in the art. By wa~ of example, Fig. 2 illustrates the fact that tha bowl unit includes an outer housing made up o~ upper and lower shell sections 66 and 68 respectively secured together along a joint line 70.
Part of the housing has been broken away at 72 to show the interior of the flush liquid reservoir. It can also be seen that the bottom wall 74 of the bowl unit is formed with two generall~ conically shaped formations, one of which is indicated at 76, which define complementary re-cesses in the undersurface of the bowl unit. These re-cesses receive complementary projections 78 on the top wall of the holding tank 24 and the recesses and projections serve to properly locate the holding tank and bowl unit with respect to one another. It will also be appreciated that the bottom of the bowl unit is appropriately contoured to accommodate the valve mechanism 34 of the holding tank and also an emptying spout 80 which projects from the top wall of the holding tank which is fitted with a screw cap 82.
The top wall of the holding tank otherwise defines a flat peripheral area generally indicated at 8~ around the valve means 34 which provides a firm and even seating surface on which the bowl unit can be supported.
The holding tank 24 simply comprises upper and lower moulded plastic shels 78 and 80 secured together at a joint 82. The top wall of the tank is shaped to define an upwardly protuberant portion :34b which accommodates the valve mechanism of the toilet. That mechanism forms the subject o~ a co-pending patent application of even date herewith entitled "Portable Toilet" and forms no part o the present invention. The valve mechanism, therefore, will not be described in detail here. For the present purposes it is sufficient to note that the mechanism in-cludes a valve member, a part of which is visible through the holding tank inlet 32 at 86. A valve operating handle is provided at -the front of the holding tank and is de~
noted 88. An actuating rod shown in ghost outline at ~0 - 12 - ~ 3~
extends inwardly from handle 8~ and is secured inside the holding tank to a valve operating mechanism including valve member 86. ~hen handle 88 is pulled outwardly to the posi-tion in which it is shown in ghost outllne in Flg. 1, valve member 86 is moved awa~ from inlet 32 so that the inlet is open to receive material from valve 26. Conversely, when handle 88 is pushed in, valve member 86 closes inlet 32.
Details of this particular valve mechanism are disclosed in the co-pending patent application referred to above.
Alternative valve mechanisms may be used; for example, valve mechanisms may be of the form disclosed in United ~tates Patent No. 4,091,475. Reference may also be made to that patent for constructional details of the bowl unit.
Referring finally to Fig. 3 it will be seen that the bowl unit outlet 28 takes the form of an integral sleeve which depends from the bottom wall of the bowl unit.
Holding tank inlet 32 is defined by an opening in the upper wall 34 of the holding tank, which opening is fitted with a neoprene rubber insert 92 of annular form which receives bowl outlet 28 and which is designed to act as a seal against the external surface of the bowl outlet 2~. Details of the valve mechanism of the toilet have been omitted from this figure.
It will of course be appreciated that the pre-ceding description relates to a preferred embodiment of the invention and that many modifications are possible within the broad scope of the invention. For example, the bowl unit and holding tank could be coupled together by two latches and keepers at opposite sides of the toilet.
Where coupling formations are employed however, the bowl unit and holding tank might be provided with only one coupling formation rather than with pairs of formations as shown. Also, the particular shape of those formations may vary. As indicated above, the locations of the coupling formations and latch and keeper may also be changed. Also, it should be noted that although the latch has been shown on the bowl unit the latch could alternatively be provided on the holding tank and the keeper on the bowl unit al though the advantage of using the keeper as a carrying handle would not be possible. A:Lso, the projections 40 could obviously be on the holding tank and the sockets ~0 on the bowl unit.
This invention relates generally to portable toilets. More particularly, the invention is concerned with toilets of the type which are often referred to as "two-piece" portable toilets and which comprise a bowl unit detacha~ly secured to and supported by a holding tank. The bowl unit includes a bowl having an outlet which communi-cates with an inlet at the top of the holding tank. The holding tank is provided with a valve mechanism which nor-mally closes the inlet but which can be opened to allow waste to enter the holding tank from the bowl. The holding tank is designed to be portable so that it can be readily transported for emptying after the bowl unit has been de-tached.
Various proposals have previously been made for securing the holding tank and bowl unit together. Forexample, in the toilet disclosed in our United States Patent No. 4,091,475 over-centre clips are use~ for securing the bowl unit to the holding tank. A clasp mechanism located between the bowl l~nit ancl the holding tank is disclosed in United States Patent No. 3,949,-~30 (Miller et al.). United States Patent No. 4,180~876 (Sargent et al.) discloses a releasable clamping arrarlgement for securing the bowl unit to the holding tank. In this case, the bowl unit is hinged to the holding tank at the front and a clasp m~chanism is provided adjacent to the rear of the toilet. This mechanism includes a strap secured to the underside of the bowl unit for transverse sliding move-$~
ment and adapted to engage a retention member which pro-trudes upwardly from the holding tank. The retention member has an enlarged head which co-operates with the strap as it move~ transversely, to hold the two parts of the toilet together. The opening of the strap is keyhole-shaped so that the retention member can be disengaged from the strap. Movement of the strap is effected by a small handle which protrudes from the rear of the toilet. In practice, this mechanism is somewhat inconvenient in that the user must reach down to the back of the toilet, locate the strap handle, and move the handle laterall~ in order to disengage the two parts of the toilet. Also, the mechanism may be somewhat balky in that the strap may not always move easily. Also, there may be a problem in locating the retention member in the keyhole-shaped opening in the strap because these components will be located be-tween the respective upper and lower surfaces of the holding tank and bowl unit and will not be visible to the user.
An object of the present invention is to provide a two-piece portable toilet having an improved coupling arrangement between the bowl unit and the holding tank.
According to the invention there is provided a two~piece portable toilet including a bowl unit and holding tank.
The bowl unit has a toilet bowl with an outlet at the lower end of the unit and the holding tank is adapted to support the bowl unit and has an upper wall including an inlet co-operable with the bowl outlet when the bowl unit is supported on the tank. Valve means is carried by the holding tank and normally closes the inlet hut is operable to permit waste to entre the holding tank at appropriate times. Means disengageably coupling the bowl unit and holding tank are provided and include at least one latch and keeper adapted to snap fit together in response to downward pressure applied to the bowl unit in the vicinity of the latch and keeper. The latch is accessible from externally of the toilet and is adapted to be manually disengaged from the keeper when the holding tank and bowl unit are to be separated.
The coupling means provided by the invention have the siynificant advantage that accessibility of the latch member from externally of the toilet is not necessary to engage the latch and keeper.
In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention b~ way of example, and in which:
Fig. 1 is a perspective view from the front of a two-piece portable toilet according to a preferred embodi-ment or the invention, in which the bowl unit i~ shown in an exploded position above the holding tank;
Fig. 2 is an exploded rear perspective view corresponding to Fig. l; and, Fig. 3 is a side elevation, partly in section, showing -the bowl unit and holding tank coupled together as i~ the assembled toilet.
In the drawings, the toilet is generally indicated by reference 20 and includes a bowl unit 22 and a holding tank 24. The bowl unit includes a toilet bowl 26 having an outlet at the lower end of the ~owl unit, indicated in dotted outline at 28. The holding tank 24 is adapted to support the bowl unit when the toilet is assembled although the bowl unit is shown in an exploded position in Figs. l and 2. The holding tank has an upper wall generally in-dicated by reference 30 which includes an lnlet 32 co-operable with bowl outlet 28 (see Fig. 3) when the bowl unit is supported on the holding tank.
~ eference numeral 34 generally indicates valve means disposed inside the holding tank and arranged to normally close the holding tank inlet but operable to per-mit wastes to entre the holding tank at appropriate times.
The bowl unit and holding tank are normally coupled together as shown in Fig. 3 by disengageable coupling means including snap lock latch and keeper and interengageable coupling formations. The latch and keeper are best seen in Figs. 2 and 3; the latch is denoted by reference numeral 36 and the keeper by reference numeral 38. The coupling formations are best shown by Figs. l and 3 and in the illustrated embodiments take the form of a pair of projections 40 which extend forwardly from the front of the bowl unit adjacent its lower end, and a pair of complementary sockets 42 which project upwardly from the holding tank. One of the sockets 42 and the correspondin~
projection 40 are ~isible in side elevation in Fig. 3 and it will he seen that projection 40 is of generally triangu-lar shape in cross--section and is received in a complementary shaped recess 44 in socket 42~
By virtue of this shaping, the formations ~0 and 42 prevent separation o~ the bowl unit and tank in a direc-tion normal to a general plane (denoted P) between the bowl unit and holding tank when the latch 36 and keeper 38 are engaged. At the same time, the fact that the bowl outlet 28 is received in holding tank inlet 3Z prevents lateral movement of bowl unit and holding tank with respect to one another. However, if the latch 36 ls disen~aged ~rom keeper 38, bowl unit 22 can be lifted from the back by an extent suf~icient to withdraw ou~.let 58 ~rom tank inlet 32 so that the formations 40 and ~2 can then disengage ~rom one another and allow the bowl unit and holding tank to be separate. Tank 24 can then be removed for emptying. The bowl unit can subsequently be replaced on the holding tank and the pr~jections 40 re-engaged in the sockets 42 while the howl unit is raised slightly at the rear; subsequently, the bowl unit is simply moved downwardly at the rear so that bowl outlet 28 engages in inlet 32 and the latch re-engage.
Latch 36 and keeper 38 are disposed so that the latch is accessible at a side of the assembled toilet, in this case, the rear side. The coupling ~ormations 40 and - 7 ~
42 are positioned at a side of the holding tank inlet 32 opposite to the latch and keeper, in this case, adjacent the front of the toiletO In this way, the holding tank and bowl unit are held together at two locations disposed on respectively opposite sides of the holding tank inlet, so as to ensure good sealing of outlet 28 and inlet 32.
The particular arrangernent shown in the drawings has been found to be eminently satisfactory in practice although it will be appreciated that, within the broad scope of the invention, the arrangement may be varied. For example, in some cases, it might be desirable to move the formations 40 and 42 inwardly from the front of the toilet, or to position the latch and keeper at one lateral side of the toilet and the formations 40 and 42 adjacent the opposite side Referring now more particularly to Figs. 2 an~ 3, it will be seen that latch 36 takes the form o a relative-ly wide strip, the cross-sectional shape of this can be seen in Fig. 3. The latch is moulded in a plastic material which is relatively rigid and yet flexible and which has a plastic memory. In this embodiment, an acetal resin material is used. The latch is secured to the underside of the bowl unit by three screws received in a suitable housing moulded into the structure of the bowl unit. One of these screws is vlsible at 46 in Fig. 3. With con-tinued reference to that view, it will be seen that the latch includes a base portion 36a through which the securing ~6~
screws extend. The remainder of the strip forms the latch proper and normally extends generally vertically downwards from bowl unit 22.
Xeeper 38 takes the form of a bar or bridge 4~
which is integrall,v moulded as part of the holding tank and is disposed above the le~el of the upper wall of the tank, as best shown by Fig. 2. Referring back to Fig. 3, it will be seen that the cross-sectional shape of latch 36 is such as to include a rearwardly directed ledge or rib 50 which engages below bar 48 when the latch is in its eng~ged position and a sloping "cam" surface 51 below this rib.
Cam surface 51 co-operates with the outer edge of the keeper so that the latch is deflected outwardly (as indi-cated in ghost ol~tline~ by the keeper when downward pres-sure is applied to the bowl unit in the vicinity of thelatch and keeper. The plastic memory of the latch material will then cause the latch to snap inwardly below the keeper.
Latch 36 extends outwardly and downwardly below rib 15 (see Fiy. 2) and defines a lip 36b whic'n acts as a finger grip for facilitating movement o~ the latch. Thus, the latch is shown in Figs. 2 and 3 in the position it occupies when engaged with the keeper and it will be appreciated that a user can simply reach down and grasp below lip 36c and pull the latch outwardly to disengage the latch. When the bowl unit is in position on the holding tank but the latch is not engaged, such engagement can be simply effected by applying slight downward pressure - 9 ~
on the bowl unit in the vicinity of the latch. The latch is normally disposed substantially flush with the rear sur-face of the toilet by virtue of being located in a recess 52 moulded into the rear of the bowl adjacent its edge.
Keeper bar 48 is similarly disposed inwardly from the rear face of the holding tank 24 and it will be seen from a comparison of Figs. 2 and 3 that the holding tank is in fact moulded to define an arcuate shaped passageway 54 which extends from the rear face of the holding tank in-wardly around keeper 38 and opens into the top wall of the holding tank. The shape of this passageway is best seen in Fig. 3 and it will be seen that its lower wall is de-fined by part of the top wall of the holding tank (denoted 30a) and that the upper wall defining the passageway is formed by an arcuate shaped moulded panel section 56 which extends downwardly from keeper bar 48 to the rear end face of the holding tank. The purpose of this design is to provide a grip or handle by which the holding tank can conveniently be carried so as to facilitate transportation of the tank for emptying. Thus, after latch 36 has been released, the bowl unit can be lifted off the holding tank and the ~ser can then insert his hand into passageway 54 either from the rear end face of the holding tank, or pre-ferably from above (so that the tank valve will be held away from the person's legs during carrying). The handle formed by keeper 38 can then be grasped and used for carrying the holding tank.
Bowl unit 22 is essentially of conventional con-struction apart from the projections 40 and latch 36 and constructional details of the ~owl unit have therefore been omitted. For present purposes it is sufficient to note that the bowl unit also includes a seat 58 which surrounds the mouth of the bowl 26, and a hinged lid 60 which can be raised and lowered so that the top of the bowl can be covered when the toilet is not in use. The bowl unit also defines, around bowl 26, a reservoir for flushing liquid and a manually operable pump 26 is provided for dispensing flushing liquid into the bowl. The liquid then leaves the bowl through outlet 28 along with the waste being flushed from the toilet. Reference 64 indicates a cap for the filling orifice of the reservoir.
Bowl unit 22 is manufactured as the number of plastic mouldings which are secured togethe.r by adhesive again as is conventional in the art. By wa~ of example, Fig. 2 illustrates the fact that tha bowl unit includes an outer housing made up o~ upper and lower shell sections 66 and 68 respectively secured together along a joint line 70.
Part of the housing has been broken away at 72 to show the interior of the flush liquid reservoir. It can also be seen that the bottom wall 74 of the bowl unit is formed with two generall~ conically shaped formations, one of which is indicated at 76, which define complementary re-cesses in the undersurface of the bowl unit. These re-cesses receive complementary projections 78 on the top wall of the holding tank 24 and the recesses and projections serve to properly locate the holding tank and bowl unit with respect to one another. It will also be appreciated that the bottom of the bowl unit is appropriately contoured to accommodate the valve mechanism 34 of the holding tank and also an emptying spout 80 which projects from the top wall of the holding tank which is fitted with a screw cap 82.
The top wall of the holding tank otherwise defines a flat peripheral area generally indicated at 8~ around the valve means 34 which provides a firm and even seating surface on which the bowl unit can be supported.
The holding tank 24 simply comprises upper and lower moulded plastic shels 78 and 80 secured together at a joint 82. The top wall of the tank is shaped to define an upwardly protuberant portion :34b which accommodates the valve mechanism of the toilet. That mechanism forms the subject o~ a co-pending patent application of even date herewith entitled "Portable Toilet" and forms no part o the present invention. The valve mechanism, therefore, will not be described in detail here. For the present purposes it is sufficient to note that the mechanism in-cludes a valve member, a part of which is visible through the holding tank inlet 32 at 86. A valve operating handle is provided at -the front of the holding tank and is de~
noted 88. An actuating rod shown in ghost outline at ~0 - 12 - ~ 3~
extends inwardly from handle 8~ and is secured inside the holding tank to a valve operating mechanism including valve member 86. ~hen handle 88 is pulled outwardly to the posi-tion in which it is shown in ghost outllne in Flg. 1, valve member 86 is moved awa~ from inlet 32 so that the inlet is open to receive material from valve 26. Conversely, when handle 88 is pushed in, valve member 86 closes inlet 32.
Details of this particular valve mechanism are disclosed in the co-pending patent application referred to above.
Alternative valve mechanisms may be used; for example, valve mechanisms may be of the form disclosed in United ~tates Patent No. 4,091,475. Reference may also be made to that patent for constructional details of the bowl unit.
Referring finally to Fig. 3 it will be seen that the bowl unit outlet 28 takes the form of an integral sleeve which depends from the bottom wall of the bowl unit.
Holding tank inlet 32 is defined by an opening in the upper wall 34 of the holding tank, which opening is fitted with a neoprene rubber insert 92 of annular form which receives bowl outlet 28 and which is designed to act as a seal against the external surface of the bowl outlet 2~. Details of the valve mechanism of the toilet have been omitted from this figure.
It will of course be appreciated that the pre-ceding description relates to a preferred embodiment of the invention and that many modifications are possible within the broad scope of the invention. For example, the bowl unit and holding tank could be coupled together by two latches and keepers at opposite sides of the toilet.
Where coupling formations are employed however, the bowl unit and holding tank might be provided with only one coupling formation rather than with pairs of formations as shown. Also, the particular shape of those formations may vary. As indicated above, the locations of the coupling formations and latch and keeper may also be changed. Also, it should be noted that although the latch has been shown on the bowl unit the latch could alternatively be provided on the holding tank and the keeper on the bowl unit al though the advantage of using the keeper as a carrying handle would not be possible. A:Lso, the projections 40 could obviously be on the holding tank and the sockets ~0 on the bowl unit.
Claims (11)
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A two-piece portable toilet comprising:
a bowl unit which includes a toilet bowl having an outlet at a lower end of the unit;
a holding tank adapted to support said bowl unit and having an upper wall including an inlet co-operable with said bowl outlet when the bowl unit is supported on the holding tank;
valve means carried by the holding tank and nor-mally closing said inlet but operable to permit waste to enter the holding tank at appropriate times; and, means disengageably coupling the bowl unit and holding tank together, said means including at least one latch and keeper adapted to snap fit together in response to downward pressure applied to the bowl unit at a position in the vicinity of said latch and keeper, said latch being accessible from externally of the toilet and being adapted to be manually disengaged from said keeper when the holding tank and bowl unit are to be separated.
a bowl unit which includes a toilet bowl having an outlet at a lower end of the unit;
a holding tank adapted to support said bowl unit and having an upper wall including an inlet co-operable with said bowl outlet when the bowl unit is supported on the holding tank;
valve means carried by the holding tank and nor-mally closing said inlet but operable to permit waste to enter the holding tank at appropriate times; and, means disengageably coupling the bowl unit and holding tank together, said means including at least one latch and keeper adapted to snap fit together in response to downward pressure applied to the bowl unit at a position in the vicinity of said latch and keeper, said latch being accessible from externally of the toilet and being adapted to be manually disengaged from said keeper when the holding tank and bowl unit are to be separated.
2. A toilet as claimed in claim 1, wherein said latch and keeper are disposed at a side of the toilet and wherein said coupling means further comprise interengage-able coupling formations on said bowl unit and holding tank inlet generally opposite to said latch and keeper, said formations being shaped to prevent separation of the unit and tank in a direction normal to a general plane therebetween when the latch and keeper are engaged.
3. A toilet as claimed in claim 2, wherein said latch and keeper are arranged adjacent a rear side of the toilet and said interengageable coupling formations are arranged adjacent a front side of the toilet.
4. A toilet as claimed in claim 1, wherein said latch comprises an elongated moulded strip of uniform cross-section shape throughout its length and having an inwardly projecting rib for engagement with said keeper, said strip being made of a relatively rigid but flexible plastic material having a plastic memory.
5. A toilet as claimed in claim 4, wherein said plastic material is an acetal resin.
6. A toilet as claimed in claim 3, wherein said latch is disposed in a recess formed in the rear side of the bowl unit adjacent its lower end, and wherein the latch is arranged to lie within said recess substantially flush with the rear side of the bowl unit when in its engaged position.
7. A toilet as claimed in claim 6, wherein said holding tank comprises at least one moulding in a plastic material, and wherein said keeper is integrally formed as part of said moulding.
8. A toilet as claimed in claim 7, wherein said moulding is shaped to define a generally arcuate-shaped passageway extending between a rear face of said holding tank and the upper wall of said tank, and wherein said keeper is defined by a bridge-like bar extending across said passageway adjacent the rear of the tank and defines a handle by which the holding tank may be carried after having been separated from the bowl unit.
9. A toilet as claimed in claim 1, wherein said valve means is disposed generally centrally of said upper wall of the holding tank, and wherein the tank defines flat support surfaces on opposite sides of said valve means for supporting said bowl unit, each of said surfaces including at least one upwardly extending projection for engagement in a complementary recess in said bowl unit for ensuring proper location of the bowl unit and holding tank with respect to one another.
10. A toilet as claimed in claim 2, wherein said coupling formations include at least one forwardly extending projection on one of said bowl unit and holding tank, and a corresponding socket defining a recess generally comple-mentary to said projection on the other of said holding tnak and bowl unit in a position to receive said projection.
11. A toilet as claimed in claim 9, wherein said bowl unit is provided with a pair of said projections spaced transversely along the said bowl unit, and wherein the holding tank is provided with a pair of correspondingly spaced said sockets, said projections and being integrally moulded with the respective bowl unit and holding tank.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US26992581A | 1981-06-02 | 1981-06-02 | |
| US269925 | 1988-11-10 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1156801A true CA1156801A (en) | 1983-11-15 |
Family
ID=23029190
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000379973A Expired CA1156801A (en) | 1981-06-02 | 1981-06-17 | Portable toilet |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1156801A (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP0110681A2 (en) * | 1982-11-25 | 1984-06-13 | Sanitation Equipment Limited | Improvements relating to the manufacture of toilets |
-
1981
- 1981-06-17 CA CA000379973A patent/CA1156801A/en not_active Expired
Cited By (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP0110681A2 (en) * | 1982-11-25 | 1984-06-13 | Sanitation Equipment Limited | Improvements relating to the manufacture of toilets |
| EP0110681A3 (en) * | 1982-11-25 | 1985-11-27 | Sanitation Equipment Limited | Improvements relating to the manufacture of toilets |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKEX | Expiry |