NZ198503A - Toilet:removable storage tank divided by flexible membrane into soil and flushing water compartments - Google Patents

Description

m 198 503 Priority Dott(s): .UVftV-. fcV.Vft Complete Specification Filed: Class: & ?>P. \ \| P i • ■ ■ ■ • ■ Publication Date: ............... $4 P.O. Journal No: .... ........ 2.4 AUG 1984 NEW ZEALAND PATENTS ACT, 1953 No.: Date: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION A FLUSHING TOILET X ANTHONY WILLIAM GOODYER, of 73 Chelmsford Road, Durban, Republic of South Africa, of South African nationality X hereby declare the invention for which JK/ we pray that a patent may v*»C- ;be granted to tsS^Jmo, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement:- ;- 1 - ;198 503 ;- 2 - ;FIELD OF THE INVENTION ;THIS invention relates to a flushing toilet of the fresh water flush type which is self-contained, does not need to be connected to any external services, has a holding tank for soil and can be easily transported and put into use at sites such as building sites or mine faces. ;BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION ;Portable toilets of this type are well known. Although the holding tanks are of a substantial size and the toilets can remain in use without emptying of the holding tanks for up to 1 500 uses, there inevitably comes a time when the holding tank has to be emptied. The.emptying is usually carried out by a tanker with a suction pump, and a hose is inserted into the holding tank to suck the soil into the tanker. This generally has to be done on site so that the toilet can be readied for further use. As can be imagined, the job of emptying the holding tank is not a pleasant one, and it is difficult to find people who are prepared to do the job. The fact that the emptying has to be done on site makes it difficult to ensure that the holding tank is always properly washed out before the toilet is ready for re-use. Furthermore, the necessity for a tanker with a suction pump to perform the emptying restricts servicing of these toilets to large organisations which have sufficient capital to purchase these large items of equipment. ;- 3 - ;SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION ;According to the present invention, there is provided a fresh water flushing toilet which does not require connection to external soil disposal facilities, the toilet including a flushing system and having a housing containing a holding tank which is removable from the housing and in which the interior of the tank is divided by a flexible membrane into a fresh water compartment and a soil holding compartment. ;When the holding tank is full of soil, the removable unit can be taken out and a new unit put in, so that the toilet is immediately available for re-use. The removed unit can then be loaded on a vehicle and returned to a servicing depot where it can be emptied, cleaned, serviced and readied for re-use. ;The interior of the holding tank is preferably jdivided by means of a flexible membrane-into a fresh water space""and" (Tsoil holding space. In a preferred embodiment the toilet housing supports a toilet bowl and the flexible membrane is in the form of a bag which has a neck connected- to the toilet bowl.- The bowl forms part,of a unit which includes the holding tank and-which can be removed, as a unit, from the housing. ;When the holding tank is installed in the toilet, the bag will be compressed and will occupy very little space inside the tank, the majority of the space being taken up by fresh water surrounding the bag. However, as the toilet is used, the volume of the soil inside the flexible bag increases and the volume of the fresh water surrounding the bag is reduced. The use of a flexible bag therefore makes it possible to reduce the overall volume of the tank, since the relative volumes of the fresh water and soil holding spaces alter during use. ;It is particularly advantageous if the holding tank is constructed from a cylindrical drum of standard size, such as a 200I (44 gal drum. Such drums are cheap to manufacture because they are aire made in large quantities for transporting chemicals and oils, an equipment for handling these drums is widely available. ;d^lEW ZEALAND 16 MAY 1984 ;PATENT OFFICE ;- 4 - ;198503 ;The passage from the toilet bowl into the soil holding space preferably passes through an opening in the cylindrical surface of the drum. ;The toilet bowl is preferably of a rubber or rubber-like material which is sufficiently rigid to retain its shape. The diameter of the opening in the cylindrical surface of the drum is slightly less than the diameter of a flange formed integrally with the toilet bowl at the upper edge thereof, so that when the soil holding space is full, the toilet bowl can be lowered on to the drum, and a cover plate can be secured on top of the bowl by clamping means, for example butterfly nuts which screw on to studs fixed around the perimeter of the opening and passing through corresponding holes in a flange of the toilet bowl and through corresponding holes in the cover plate. The drum is then completely sealed and ready to be removed for emptying and cleaning. ;Since with this construction there will be an irregularity on the cylindrical wall of the drum, it is advantageous to provide riding rings around the drum so that the drum can be rolled without damaging the fastenings of the cover plate. For example rubber treads such as are used for motor car tyres can be vulcanized around the circumference of the drum. ;The flushing system preferably consists of an annular tube with apertures in it (the flush ring) which fits around the top of the toilet bowl, a manually operated pump (for the avoidance of doubt, ;manual operation includes both hand and foot operation) and a dip tube which is introduced into the fresh water space through the opening in the cylindrical wall of the holding tank, to the bottom of the tank. Operation of the pump,-which is preferably by means of a foot pedal, ;then draws water from the bottom of the fresh water space through the pump to the flush ring.so that the water flushes the sides of the bowl and ends up in the soil holding space inside the bag. ;- 5 - ;1 98503 ;The dip tube is preferably removed from the holding tank when the soil holding space is full, before the tank is sealed with the cover plate. ;The fresh water space preferably includes a level sensor which 5 provides a signal when the fresh water is used up, to indicate that the holding tank^nVt must'be" changed. ;BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS ;The invention will now be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: ;Figure 1 is a perspective view of a toilet in accordance with the 10 invention, in a cabin with the door of the cabin open; ;Figure 2 is a section through the toilet of Figure 1; ;Figure 3 is a section through a full, sealed holding tank; and Figure 4 is a perspective view of a sealed holding tank. ;DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT ;The toilet cabin shown in Figure 1 is free-standing and is not 15 connected to any external services. The cabin consists of three walls 10 and a door 12. Interior door blanks, with their faces suitably cladded, can be used for these components. A canvas roof 14 is provided. ;Inside the cabin there is a bench 16 in the middle of which a toilet 20 seat 18 is fitted. Also visible in Figure 1 is a foot pedal 20 for operating a flushing pump. ;Turning now to Figure 2, a section through the toilet itself is shown. A toilet bowl 22 of a hard rubber material has an external flange 24 ;1 9850 ;- 6 - ;which seats on top of an aperture in the bench 16. A flush ring 26 surrounds the top of the bowl 22 beneath the seat 18. The bowl 22 communicates via a neck 28 with the interior of a flexible bag 30. The interior of the flexible bag 30 thus forms a soil holding space 32. The connection between the bowl 22 and the bag 30 is permanent. ;If desired, a device for closing the neck 28 may be provided. Such a device is indicated schematically at 34, and may consist of some means for throttling the flexible neck 28. For example, this device 34 could be operated by raising of a seat lid (not shown). ;The flexible bag 30 is located within a holding tank 36, and the space within the tank 36 surrounding the bag 30 forms a fresh water space. The fresh water level is indicated at 38 in Figure 2. The fresh water wiirnormally be mixed with a chemical. ;The fresh water for flushing is extracted by means of a pump 40 which communicates with the bottom of the tank 36 via a dip tube 42. ;Operation of the pump 40, by means of the foot pedal 20, causes fresh water to be pumped to the flush ring 26. In Figure 2, the pump 40 is only shown schematically, for clarity of illustration. ;The neck 28 of the bag 30 and the dip tube 42 pass through an opening 44 in a cylindrical wall of the tank 36. As can be seen in Figure 4, the tank 36 is a cylindrical drunu. __ In Figure 4 the opening 44 is covered by a cover plate 46. ;The tank 36 is supported on two bars 48 at the bottom of the cabin, ;below the bench 16. In Figure 2 only one of these bars can be seen, but it will be appreciated that the two bars will be arranged parallel to one another so that.the tank 36 can sit on them. Rollers (not shown) may be mounted on the bars to enable the tank 36 to be rotated on the bars until the opening 44 is uppermost. To ensure that this ;- 7 - ;198 503 ;position can be maintained, a spring-loaded plunger 50 mounted in one of the walls 10 engages in-the conventional vent plug 52 usually found in cylindrical drums of this type. Furthermore, a water level sensor 54 is mounted in the tank in the hole conventionally provided for discharge of the contents of such a cylindrical drum. ;As previously mentioned, it is most convenient if the tank 36 is a cylindrical drum of standard size, e.g. a 200£ (44 gallon) drum. ;The sensor 54 will be connected to suitable indicating equipment to provide a visual or audible signal that the fresh water in the tank 36 has been used up. ;When this signal is noticed, the tank must be sealed and removed. The first step in doing this is to withdraw the dip tube 42 through the opening 44. The seat 18 is then raised and the flush ring 26 released. The bowl 22 is then deformed to allow it to pass through the opening in the bench 16, and it is then lowered into the tank 36 on top of studs 56 surrounding the opening 44. A cover plate 46 then fits over the bowl 22, and is secured in place by butterfly nuts 58. The tank contents are then sealed in place, and the tank can be removed by rolling- it out of the cabin (the bottom half of the back wall 10 can be formed by a canvas flap to give easy access to the tank), and can be removed for emptying and cleaning. ;At the same time, an emptied, cleaned and re-filled tank is put into place by locating it <*n the bars 48 with its-opening .44 uppermost, removing the cover 46, raising the bowl 22 through the bench and replacing the diprtube, flush ring and seat.

To facilitate handling, the circumference of the drum is provided with rubber riding treads 60.on which the drum can roll without the nuts 58 fouling the surface on which the drum is rolling. These treads 60 can 1 98503 be conventional treads used for motor car tyres, vulcanised on to the drum.

Claims (12)

- 9 - ±:;85Q2 WHAT I CLAIM IS

1. A fresh water flushing toilet which does not require connection to external solid disposal facilities, the toilet including a flushing system and having a housing containing a holding tank which is removable from the housing and in which the interior of the tank is divided by a flexible membrane into a fresh water compartment and a soil holding compartment.

2. A toilet as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the toilet housing supports a toilet bowl, the flexible membrane in the form of a bag which has a neck connected to the toilet bowl, and the bowl is removable from the housing together with the tank.

3. A toilet as claimed in Claim 2 wherein the bowl is of a shape-retaining rubber or rubber-like material.

4. A toilet as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the tank is a cylindrical drum.

5- A toilet as claimed in Claim 4, wherein the drum is a 2 (44 gallon) drum. |C{ ^ r , ' 10

6. A toilet as claimed in Claim 5 wherein the drum has two apertures in an end wall, and one aperture receives a liquid level sensing device whilst the other aperture receives a plug which assists in locating the drum in the housing.

7. A toilet as claimed in any one of Claims 4 to 6, wherein an opening is formed in the cylindrical surface of the drum, and a passage from the toilet bowl into the soil holding compartment passes through the opening.

8. A toilet as claimed in Claim 7, wherein the diameter of the opening is slightly less than the diameter of a flange formed integrally with the toilet bowl at the upper edge thereof, clamping means are provided around the opening, and a cover plate is provided, so that the bowl flange can be clamped to the edge of the opening between the cover plate and the drum, thereby to seal the fresh water compartment and the soil holding compartment. A toilet as claimed in any one of Claims 4 to 8, wherein the drum is provided with external circumferential riding

9. V • ri ngs. - 11 -

10. A toilet as claimed in Claim 9, wherein the riding rings are rubber tyre treads.

11. A toilet as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the flushing system is part of the housing and is not removable with the tank, and comprises a dip tube to be introduced into a fresh water compartment in the housing, a manually operated pump, and a flushing ring surrounding an integral flange of the toilet bowl. operated. 13. A fresh water flushing toilet substantially as herein described with reference to any one of Figure 1 to 4 of the accompanying drawings. 14. A fresh water flushing toiletj including a holding tank substantially as herein described with reference to any one of Figures 1 to 4 of the accompanying drawings.

12. A toilet is claimed in Claim 11, wherein the pump is foot ,_72~ DATEO THIS ft DAY OF AGENTS FOR THE APPLICANTS