EP0561750A1

EP0561750A1 - Sanitary apparatus with an expulsion-type discharge

Info

Publication number: EP0561750A1
Application number: EP93830108A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Marco Giovannini
Original assignee: De Angelis Adriano; Giovannini Stelio
Current assignee: De Angelis Adriano; Giovannini Stelio
Priority date: 1992-03-20
Filing date: 1993-03-17
Publication date: 1993-09-22

Abstract

The apparatus consists of a bowl (1) , the depth of whose interior is less than the normal depth for toilet bowls. The inside of the bowl (1) is designed with a large discharge or flushing aperture (3) of an elliptical or rectangular shape whose width is greater than its height. The bottom of this opening reaches the upper level (4) set for the layer of water that must remain in the bottom of the bowl (2). In addition, the hollow upper edge (9) of the bowl (1) is equipped with a single influx aperture (10), located directly across from the aperture for discharge or flushing (3), while the bottom of the inside of the bowl (1) is designed with raised ribbing laid out in such a way as to channel the refuse towards the discharge outlet (3).

Another element, which is an integral part of the bowl (1), or is connected to it in such a way as to form a single piece, is a receptacle (5) located beneath the bowl (2), into which are flushed from the inside of the bowl (1), through the flushing aperture (3), the materials deposited or discharged in the bowl (1), as well as the rinsing water. This receptacle (5) is connected, through a watertight juncture, to a discharge pump (6) located below the bowl (2).

Description

Background of the invention

Modern toilets or water closets installed in the bathrooms of homes or other residential units are normally designed so that the internal tank collects the feces, which are washed away by water arriving from a container and pushed or carried through a channel inside the bowl towards an external discharge pipe that sends them to the sewer. Normally, this internal channel is constructed in an "S" shape so that the water which remains inside of it forms a hydraulic seal, preventing the return of unpleasant odors from the sewer to the bathroom.
The discharge channels inside the bowl have a minimum internal diameter of 100 millimeters.
Recently, and especially in the case of toilets manufactured for installation in vehicles or boats, or in residential units or other sites where there are no sewers nearby, increasing use has been made of equipment designed to ensure an expulsion-type discharge of the waste water, which is carried to the sewers through small-diameter piping.
In these toilets, a pump draws the water plus the organic residues from the small tank or sump inside the bowl, carrying them through the narrow piping mentioned above to the sewer or the discharge site.
There are significant problems connected with this system, specifically:

electrically-operated valves and filters are needed for the supply of the rinse water;
electronic circuit boards or timed programming devices or timers are needed for opening and closing the aforementioned valve;
the water must arrive at the entry valve under pressure;
the dimensions of the outlet aperture from the internal tank or sump of the toilet must be extremely small, so as to create the suction needed to draw away the residue;
it is not possible to connect into this system, and thereby expel, rinse water from other sanitary apparatuses in the bathroom;
given that an electric valve is used to control the influx, the water is necessarily supplied in limited quantities, creating problems of hygiene, as the toilet is washed with 3-5 liters of water compared to the 10-12 liters in a normal rinse;
the apparatus must be equipped with valves for clearing the air from the toilet-pump junctures and the channels, as well as an anti-syphon valve in the piping to prevent subsequent emptying of the toilet syphon.

Summary of the invention

The subject of the present invention is a sanitary apparatus with an expulsion-type discharge in which the rinse water from the bowl, together with the solid products to be eliminated, drop into a collection receptacle that forms a single piece with the toilet, or is connected to it, being installed either on the front or on the rear of the toilet; a pump is connected to this recipient to draw away the waste products and waste water, as well as the rinse water, there being no drawing action from the bowl, as the waste products and water are simply flushed into the receptacle by the force of gravity.
The form of the aperture through which the waste water and the rinse water are flushed from the bowl into the receptacle is not round, but preferably elliptical or rectangular, with this shape making it possible to maintain within normal levels the overall height of the bowl, and in particular the height of the inside of the bowl, where, following each discharge of the rinse water, a layer of water remains, reaching as far as the lower edge of the flushing aperture. The receptacle for the collection of the flushed water is also cleaned, for all intents and purposes, every time rinse water is supplied to the inside of the bowl, meaning that at the same time as the toilet bowl is being washed, the collection receptacle is also abundantly washed and, thanks to the action of the pump, kept free of residues and odors.
The invention can be better understood, and other features will become apparent, once the following description has been read in combination with the accompanying mechanical drawings.

Brief description of the drawings

Figure 1 shows a vertical cross-section of a toilet improved according to the invention.
Figure 2 shows the same toilet viewed from above.

Detailed description

With reference to the aforementioned drawing, the toilet designed according to the invention consists of a bowl 1 whose inside depth 2 is less than that of a normal bowl; the rear of the inside of the bowl is equipped with an aperture for discharge or flushing 3 whose shape is elliptical or rectangular, meaning that its width is greater than its height. The bottom edge of this aperture extends to the upper level 4 set for the layer of water which must remain at the bottom of the bowl 2.
An element designed as part of the bowl 1, or as a piece connected to the bowl in such a way as to form a single unit, is the receptacle 5, which, in the drawing, is located behind and underneath the bowl 2, though it could also be placed in front of it; the receptacle 5 receives the water flushed from the bowl through the aperture, consisting of both rinse water and other water (from the sink, etc.), though it is preferable for the other water to be channeled directly into the receptacle 5.
This receptacle 5 is connected to a discharge pump 6 located below the bowl 2; the pump 6 is activated manually or automatically. In the latter case, any one of a number of different devices - such as a pressure gauge 7 or a water-level sensor or another appropriate piece of equipment - activates the pump (which can also be equipped with one of the more commonly-used grinding devices), emptying the receptacle of the waste water and the solid waste materials that have arrived either through the aperture 3 or as the result of other discharges from other sanitary and/or hygienic apparatuses. The receptacle 5 is equipped with a closure 8 that makes it possible to inspect the inside.
As with most toilets, at the top of the inside of the bowl 1 is the hollow edge 9 from which the rinse water flows when the discharge is activated.
In the invention, this hollow edge 9 is essentially equipped with one large influx aperture 10 located directly opposite the discharge aperture 3. As a result, the entire flow of the rinse water hits the refuse deposited in the inside of the bowl, forcefully dragging it towards the discharge aperture 3. Favorable conditions are created for this action by the presence on the bottom of the bowl of raised ribbing, which is straight in the original design, but can also be curved: the essential point being that the shape help to channel the refuse towards the discharge aperture 3.
The advantages offered by the invention of this sanitary apparatus are readily discernible in the above description. Of particular importance is the possibility of discharging water from all the various hygienic and sanitary apparatuses and of receiving rinse water from any type of storage tank whatsever, no matter what the structure, or through a flow-meter, meaning that there is no need to change existing or planned installations; the fact that the collection tank for the discharge of the waste water is a integral part of the toilet, or a closely connected piece, makes the toilet easier to install, even if the pump for discharge and/or grinding is located beneath the tank. Furthermore, the inside of the bowl 2 is always left, after each rinsing, with a pre-set quantity of water that protects it against possible soiling by the solid residues deposited and/or discharged inside of it. Yet another advantage is that all odors are rapidly eliminated, while - thanks to the fact that the receptacle 5 for the collection and discharge of the waste is also washed with each flow of rinse water, and is sealed off by the pump with respect to the external discharge conduit - there is no exhalation of odors into the room where the toilet functions.
This invention of a sanitary apparatus with an expulsion-type discharge has been described and illustrated on the basis of a preferred design. Obviously, within the framework of the enclosed claims, the apparatus can be manufactured in a form which differs from that specifically described here.

Claims

1. - A sanitary apparatus with an expulsion-type discharge, characterized by the fact that it consists of a bowl (1), the depth of whose interior is less than the normal depth for toilet bowls; the interior of the bowl is designed with a large discharge or flushing aperture (3) of an elliptical or rectangular shape whose width is greater than its height; the lower edge of this opening reaches the upper level (4) set for the layer of water that must remain in the bottom of the bowl (2).

2. - A sanitary apparatus with an expulsion-type discharge, designed according to the specifications of claim 1, but distinguished by the fact that a receptacle (5) which is part of the same piece as the inside of the bowl (1), or is connected to it in such a way as to form a single piece, is located beneath the bowl (2), where it receives the materials deposited or discharged into the bowl (1), which are flushed through the flushing aperture, together with, where appropriate, the rinsing water, and whatever discharges happen to be received from other hygienic and/or sanitary apparatuses.

3. - A sanitary apparatus with an expulsion-type discharge, designed according to the specifications of claim 2, but distinguished by the fact that the receptacle for the flushed material (5) is connected to the discharge pump (6), which is located beneath the bowl: the pump is activated manually or automatically, using any type of appropriate device.

4. - A sanitary apparatus with an expulsion-type discharge, designed according to the specifications of claim 1, but distinguished by the fact that the hollow upper edge of the inside of the bowl (1), into which the rinse water flows, is equipped with a single, large influx aperture (10) located directly across from the aperture for discharge or flushing (3).

5. - Sanitary apparatus with an expulsion-type discharge, designed according to the specifications of claim 1, but distinguished by the fact that the bottom of the bowl (2) is equipped with straight - or curved - raised ribbing laid out in such a way as to channel the refuse towards the discharge outlet (3).

6. - A sanitary apparatus with an expulsion-type discharge, designed according to one or more of the preceding claims, essentially as described and illustrated above.