US3103017A - Incinerator disposal unit for human waste - Google Patents

Description

p F. J. LA MERE 3,103,017

INCINERATOR DISPOSAL UNIT FOR HUMAN WASTE Filed July 15, 1961 4 Shets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. FRANK J. LA MERE.

BY :EIIlEr- 'Z ZyM/LZ ATTORNEYS Sept. 10, 1963 F. J. LA MERE I INCINERATOR DISPOSAL UNIT FOR HUMAN ,WASTE Filed July 13; 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 N -M-HM-H INVENTOR. FRANK J. LA MERE ATTORNEYS Sept. 10, 1963 F. J. LA MERE 3,103,017

INCINERATOR DISPOSAL UNIT FOR HUMAN WASTE Filed July 13, 1961 4Sheets-Sheet3 ATTORNEYS Sept. 10, 1963 F. J. LA MERE 3,103,017

7 INCINERATOR DISPOSAL UNIT FOR HUMANWASTE Filed July 13, 1961 v 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. IE I 'i [-3 FRANK J. LA MERE ATTORN EYS United States Patent 3,103,017 INCINERATQR DEPGSAL UNIT FOR HUMAN WASTE Frank J. La More, 5841 Sutter Ave., Carmichael, Calif. Filed July 13, 1961, Ser. No. 123,784 22 Claims. (Cl. 4-131) This invention relates to incinerator disposal units and more particularly to such disposal units for direct receipt and disposal of human waste material.

The disposal of human waste material presents increasing problems at the present time due to rapid expansion of population, Water shortages in many areas, and the necessity of disposing of human waste material while avoiding unsanitary conditions, pollution of water resources, etc. These problems are particularly serious in many locations such as on boats and other vehicles, in camping and road work installations, etc., where economic or space limitations prevent the installation of conventional septic systems and the water supply and exhaust facilities normally associated therewith. in these serious locations, many types of chemical disposal units have been used heretofore, but these units have been very unsatisfactory from the standpoint of the user and the person who is required to service the unit periodically. Some incinerator disposal units have been proposed for use in many of these locations, but they have achieved little success due to their inefficiency, their high cost, their requirements for objectionable maintenance, or their requirements for excessive amounts or" thermal insulation to prevent hazards of fire, etc.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of this invention to provide an incinerator disposal unit for human waste material which may be used in substantially all locafions and which possesses maximum efliciency in disposing of such material while producing a minimum odor in its exhaust and leaving a minimum amount of residual ash.

'It is another object of the invention to provide such a disposal unit which will be inexpensive and simple to manufacture and which will require a minimum amount of thermal insulation surrounding it when it is installed.

it is another object of the invention to provide such a disposal unit which is designed for efficient incineration of material and localization of areas of intense heat in the device.

It is another object of the invention to provide such a disposal unit which is completely automatic in operation and which is reliable and trouble-free in use.

It is another object of the invention to provide such a disposal unit which is extremely safe and prevents fire hazards from arising where it is used.

it is another object of the invention to provide such a disposal unit which, while being automatic, may be used a plurality of times in sequence without requiring the completion of a cycle of automatic operation between uses.

It is another object of the invention to provide such a disposal unit which may be adjusted easily to adapt it to a variety of patterns of repetitive use and which may be manually adjusted to adapt it to any unusual single instance of use.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description read in conjunction with the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a disposal unit constructed in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 taken along a generally vertical plane centrally of the device;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view or" the apparatus of FIG. 1 taken along a horizontal plane indicated at 3-3 in FIG. 2;

"ice

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a fragment of the apparatus of FIG. 2 taken along the plane and in the direction indicated at 44 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a view in side elevation of the apparatus of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view similar to FIG. 2 illustrating an alternative form of disposal unit of this invention; and

FIG. 7 is a wiring diagram for the apparatus of both forms of this invention.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, and particularly to FKGS. 1-3, the disposal unit illustrated therein comprises an elongated, generally rectangular housing having side walls 10 and 12, a front wall 14, a rear wall 16, a top wall 18, and a bottom wall 20. The housing is preferably mounted above the fioor on which it rests by feet 22 which provide an air space between the bottom wall 20 and the floor.

The housing is provided with an opening 24 (see FIG. 2) in the top thereof surrounded by a conventional seat 26, and a lid 28 is pivotally mounted on the seat 26 by means of a hinge 30, the seat carrying a spacer 32 which, together with the hinge 30, provides an air space between the seat 26 and the lid 28.

Referring in greater detail to FIGS. 2 and 3, four vertical posts 34, 36, 38 and at} are mounted in the housing and pivotally support a pair of hinge rods 42 (only one shown in FIG. 2) with the hinge rods 42 connected by links 44 to ears 4% on the lid 28 whereby the rods 42 are rotated responsive to opening of the lid 28. A b aille or door 43 is rigidly attached to each of the hinge rods 42 and is moved responsive to pivotal movement of the rods 42 with the doors 48 being positioned horizontally when the lid 28 is closed and being positioned vertically at the sides of the unit, .as indicated in phantom outline at 4-8, when the lid 28 is open.

A horizontal support bar St) extends between the posts 34 and 4t), and a main fire box 52 is supported centrally in the housing on the bar 5i and the posts 36 and 38. A pair of vertical panels 5 and 56 are mounted on the posts 344il and define front and back walls of a chute leading from the opening 24 to the fire box 52, the side walls of such chute being defined when the lid 28 is opened by the under sides of the doors 48.

A pair of rods 58 and 6d are pivotally received in the sides of the fire box 52,, and a pair of baffles 62 and 64, respectively, are mounted thereon. The rods 58 and 60 are interconnected by a link 66 (see FIG. 3), and the rod 60 is connected to one of the rods 42 by a link 68 whereby the baffies 62 and as are moved between their full line position shown in FIG. 2 and their phantom position shown at 62 and 64' in synchronization with movement of the doors 48 from their horizontal to their vertical positions.

An auxiliary removable fire box 76 is mounted in the fire box 532 supported above the floor of the fire box 52 by means of a pair of hooks 72 supported on the rod 58 and a foot '74 on the inner fire box 70 which engages the floor of the main fire box 52. It will be noted that when the bafiies 62 and 64 are in their phantom-line positions 62' and 64/, the battles uncover the inner fire box 7 0 and define additional side walls of the chute leading from opening 24, which guides material into the inner fire box 70. It should be further noted that the lower end of the panel 54 is curved inwardly to a point over the inner fire box 70 as indicated at 76. This curved portion of the panel 54 is provided with a pair of air passages 78 therethrough positioned adjacent to the side edges of the panel 54. For the sake of clarity in illustration, this curved portion 76 of the panel 54 is removed from FIG. 3 in which, as illustrated, it would normally show.

A fuel delivery nozzle 8i) is mounted in the housing by suitable means (not shown) and extends into the inner fire box 70 between the walls of the inner fire box 70 and the curved portion 76 of the panel 54. The nozzle 80 is connected to a suitable fuel control valve, shown schematically at 82 in FIG. 7, with the valve being mounted in the housing adjacent to the front wall 14. In this regard it should be noted that the front wall is preferably made movable to facilitate inspection of the valve 82 and the timer mechanism to be described hereinafter. The

' valve 82 is a normally closed electrically openable solenoid valve known to the art, only the actuating coil of the valve being shown schematically in FIG. 7.

It should thus be noted that the provision of hooks 72 and foot 74 on the inner fire box 70 provides an air passageway 84 between the inner fire box 78 and the main fire box 52. Additional air passageways are provided around the main fire box 52 by a pair of vertical bafiles 86 (see FIG. 2) mounted on the posts 3-44t) at the sides of the housing and a curved bafile 88 extending under the fire box 52 and mounted upon the posts 3440. Additional air passageways are provided by a perforated hori zontal baflie 90 supported just above the bottom 20 of the housing, with the housing being provided with a plurality of louvers 92 for admitting air into the housing. In this manner an air passageway 94 (see FIG. 2) is defined between the fire box 52 and the baffle 88; an air passageway 96 (see FIG. 2) extends between the baffies 88 and '90; air passageways 98 (see FIG. 3) are defined between the side walls and '12 and the vertical baffles 86 and, when the lid 28 is closed, an air passageway 100 is defined between the doors 48 and the bafiles 62 and 64.

A high volume exhaust fan 182 (see FIG. 2) is mounted in the housing on posts 36 and 38 by means not shown and is'provided with an intake passageway 104- shielded by a screen 106. The fan 102 is provided with a drive motor 108 and an exhaust passageway 110 leading from the housing and conveniently connected to an exhaust stack 1-12 by a sleeve of thermal installation 114.

The exhaust fan 102 is constructed to exhaust a volume of air very substantially exceeding the volume of incinerating gas stream discharged from the fuel delivery nozzle 80. The dimensions of the passageways 84, 94, 96, 98 and 100 and the dimensions of the inner fire box 70 are preferably chosen together with the air capacity of the fan 102 so that: of the total capacity of the fan 102, approximately 30 percent passes through the fire box 78, 30 percent passes through the combined passageways 84, 94 and 96, percent passes through each of the passageways 98 and 10 percent passes through the passageway 100. In this manner, large volume streams of air are moved by the fan 102 around the inner fire box 70 spaced from the inner fire box 70 by successive baffles to thereby maintain the housing of the apparatus cool while permitting intense heat to be applied against material in the fire box 7t). -In addition, this air which cools the walls of the housing is preheated and then combined with the combustion products emanating from the fire box 78 before the air stream passes into the fan 102. This combining of the air from the combustion and cooling streams reduces substantially the temperature of air in the fan 102 and the temperature of the air in the exhaust stack 112, and this combining effects sufficiently efiicient oxidation of material in the fire box 70 that the gas discharge from the stack 112 is substantially odorless.

As explained in greater detail hereinafter, the exhaust fan 102 is operated at full capacity not only when fuel is being discharged from the nozzle 841) but also at all times when the lid 28 of the device is opened. At these times when the lid 28 of the device is opened, the doors 48 and baflles 62 and 64 are moved to their upward uncovering position which permits a substantial amount of air to enter through the opening 24 and flow to the exhaust fan 102 through the fire box 70 and around the outer edges of the bafile 62. In this manner, use of the disposal unit is permitted even immediately succeeding a time when the nozzle 88 has been delivering an iucinerating stream of gas. Thus, if the walls of the inner fire box 70 are quite hot and the lid 28 is then opened, the increased volume of air passing through the opening 24 will carry to the exhaust stack 112 any combustion products or steam arising from the fire box 7 0'.

The operation of the fuel valve 82 and the fan motor 188 is controlled in part by a timer mounted in a case 116 on the interior of the housing adjacent to the side wall 10 and front wall 14 thereof. The timer is mounted on a short panel extension 118 of the removable front cover of the housing, with one of the rotatable rods 42 extending through the panel 118. The timer case 116 is illustrated in greater detail in FIGS. 4- and 5.

The timer shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is a spring driven timer having an electrical timer compartment '120 containing a pair of electrical switch elements (not shown) adapted to connect a pair of leads 122 to each other and a pair of leads 124 to each other. The particular construction of the timer in the compartment is not important to the invention; the compartment 120 contains a movable timer element connected to a gear 126' with a first switch operated by the timer element and adapted to be closed at all times except when the timer element is in a Zero time position. This first switch, referred to hereafter as switch 122, is adapted to connect the leads 122. A second switch is connected to the timer element and adapted to be closed at all times except when a time interval of less than six minutes is accumulated on the timer. The timer 1120 is a conventional interval timer having a capacity for measuring intervals up to one and one-half hours.

The gear 126 on the timer 120 is in mesh with a gear 128 which is mounted on a shaft 42 for free rotation thereon. A clock spring 130 is mounted on the shaft 42 with its opposite ends 132 and 134 connected to the case 116 of the timer and the gear 128, respectively. The func tion of the spring 130 is to supplement the standard spring in the timer 120 to insure that the timer element in timer 120 always returns to its zero time position. A finger 1 36 is rigidly mounted on the shaft 42 and carries a pin 138 extending through an arcuate slot in the case 116 of the timer. A cam plate 140 is mounted on the pin 1'38 and a pawl 142 is mounted on the pin 138, spring biased by spring 144 to a position where the pawl may engage the teeth of gear 128. A micro-switch 146 is mounted on the case 116 of the timer and carries an actuating button 148 positioned to be depressed by the cam plate 140 to close the switch 146 When the pin 138 is moved to its position shown in FIG. 5.

A gear shield 150 is mounted on the case 116 of the timer adjustably positioned circumferentially of the shaft 42 by a screw 152 received in an arcuate slot 154 in the shield 150. The shield 150 has a curved portion best seen in FIG. 5 which covers the teeth on gear 128' and prevents the pawl 142 from engaging such teeth when the pawl 142 is in its illustrated position. A timer limiting shield 156 is mounted directly on the gear 128 by adjustment screws 158 with the shield 156 covering a portion of the teeth on gear 128.

In operation of the timer illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the shaft 42 rotates responsive to opening of the lid 28 of the disposal unit to thereby move the pawl 142 from its illustrated position. When the pawl passes the end of shield 150 it engages the teeth on the gear 128 and causes rotation of the gear 128 and the gear 126-. This rotation causes the timer 120 to be wound up by further rotation of the shaft 42, and the proper positioning of the shield 150 controls the predetermined time interval by which the timer 120 is wound up for each opening of the lid 28. In most situations it is preferred that the shield 150 be so positioned that each opening of the lid 28 of the disposal unit will add a time interval of l5-18 minutes to any time interval then accumulated by the timer 120. Also when the pawl 142 is moved from its illustrated position by rotation of the shaft 42, the

cam plate 140 is moved away from the switch actuating button 148 to open the switch 146.

While the lid 23 of the unit remains open, and the pawl remains in engagement with the gear 128, the timer is prevented from unwinding and the switch 146 is kept open. The switch 146 prevents opening of the fuel valve, and the pawl prevents the timer 120 from measuring its accumulated time until the lid 2% is again closed.

When the lid 28 of the disposal unit is closed, the pawl will be moved back to its illustrated position and the shield 151) will lift the pawl 142 from the teeth of the gear 128. Thereafter, the timer 128 will proceed to unwind and measure the time interval then accumulated thereon until the switch 124 is opened with a time interval of six minutes remaining on the timer, and the switch 122 will be opened six minutes later when the timer reaches its zero time position.

It should be noted that the maximum time interval which can be accumulated by the timer 121i is determined by the position of the shield 156 since, when a large time interval has already been accumulated on the timer 121) the shield 156 will prevent the pawl 14-2 from engaging the gear 128 and further Winding up the timer.

Referring specifically to FIG. 7, it "will be seen that the switch 122 in the timer 121i is connected in series with the fan motor 103 so that whenever the lid 28 of the device is opened the fan 1% is started. In addition, a thermally actuated switch 16% is connected in parallel with the switch 122 to effect operation of the fan motor 108 at any time when the switch 16% is closed. The switch 160 is mounted on the outside of the main fire box 52 of the disposal unit (see FIG. 2) and is constructed to be closed at all times when the walls of the main fire box are heated to a temperature exceeding 150. The

switch 166 thus insures operation of the fan 1 ll2 and cooling of the device by the fans air stream even when the time interval accumulated on timer 121) has expired.

The switches 122 and 1611 connect the fan motor 108 to suitable AC. power supply leads 162, and a suitable rectifier 164 is also connected to the leads 162 to provide direct current power supply for the solenoid valve 82. The switch 124 of the timer 120 is connected in series with the solenoid valve 82 to prevent opening of the solenoid valve 82 except when more than six minutes is accumulated on the timer 121). In addition, the micro-switch 146 is connected in series with the switch 124 and the solenoid valve 82 to prevent opening of the solenoid valve 82 at any time when the lid 28 of the disposal unit is opened. A third micro-switch 166 is connected in series with the solenoid valve 82, with the switch 166 being mounted on a pivotal vane 168 in the exhaust conduit 110 from the fan 102. The switch 166 is normally open in the position illustrated in FIG. 2 and is closed when the vane 16-8 tips responsive to flow of air through the conduit 11% from the fan 102. This switch 156 may be a conventional mercury switch. The switch 166 thus prevents opening of the valve 82 except when the fan 102 is operating. In lieu of the switch 166 a centrifugal switch on the fan 102 may be used, but the switch 166 is preferred.

It should be noted that a pair of seats 16) and 171 are mounted in the exhaust conduit 119 to cooperate with the vane 16 8 in preventing downdrafts into the unit when the unit is not in operation.

The alternative form of apparatus illustrated in FIG. 6 is substantially the same as the apparatus of FIGS. 1-5 with the exception that the fuel delivery nozzle 80 of FIG. 2 has been replaced by a nozzle 170* which is rotatably mounted on a fuel supply conduit 172, in the housing of the device. The nozzle 171] is connected to the link 63 'by an arm 174 to effect pivotal movement of the nozzle 179 from its illustrated position to the phantomline position 170' responsive to opening of the lid 28 in a manner similar to the manner in which the baflle 64 is operated in FIG. 2. A baffle 176 is mounted on the top of the nozzle and functions in the same manner as the bafile 64 of FIG. 2.

In the device of FIG. 6 the nozzle 17 0 is supported in its illustrated position when the lid 28 is closed to direct an incinerating stream of gas generally vertically downwardly against material in the fire box 70. When the lid 28 is opened the nozzle 170 is moved to its phantom-line position to thereby facilitate the introduction of material into the fire box. It should be noted that an auxiliary baifie 178 is mounted on the bottom of the nozzle 171) to shield the nozzle 170- from material in the device when the lid 28 is opened, and a pivotally mounted auxiliary baffle 18% is connected by a link 182 to one of the shafts 42 so that the auxiliary bafile is moved downwardly responsive to upward movement of the nozzle 171). The bafile 189 then directly shields the fluid discharge opening of the nozzle 170 when the lid 28 of the device is opened.

The two embodiments of the disposal unit of this invention provides a very efiicient device for the purposes stated in the objects of this invention. The unit may be manufactured easily and inexpensively and may be operated with a minimum amount of maintenance and repair. Materials to be disposed of by the device may be consumed in the fire box 713 more efiiciently than they have been consumed by any similar device known heretofore, and the combustion products removed from the fire box 71} may be completely oxidized and delivered to the exhaust stack 112 as relatively cool and completely odorless and unobjectionable gases and vapors. In addition, the intense heat of incineration in the device may be efiiciently contained in the fire box 711 and dispersed in cooling air whereby a minimum of insulation need be employed with the dispoal unit; in some locations, particularly at interior areas of metal-to-metal contact, some insulation may be desired, but only a minimum need be used. The deterioration of metal parts in the unit is confined to the fire box 70, and the fire box 71} is easily replaceable. The device provides complete automatic operation actuated simply by the opening of the lid 28 of the device so that the opening of the lid insures operation of the fan 1112, and the closing of the lid starts the measuring of a timing cycle during which material in the device is consumed and exhausted. The device may be used repetitively without waiting for the completion of any one cycle of automatic operation since the timer may be actuated to accumulate a plurality of incremental units of time or fractions thereof depending upon the number of times the lid 28 is opened and closed. The device may be adjusted by movement of the shield 150 to adapt the device for any particular pattern of use by adjusting the duration of the predetermined time increment which is added to the timer 1218 upon each opening of the lid 28. Adjustment of the shield 156 similarly controls the maximum time interval which can be accumulated by the timer 1211 so that the device may be adjusted to accumulate amaxhnum time on the timer 1212* which is approximately sufiicient to consume and exhaust the full capacity of the fire box 70. In addition, the timer is provided with a key 184 (see FIG. 4) which is engageable with the gear 126 through an aperture 186 (see FIG. 1) in the housing'so that the timer 121) may be manually wound up or unwound by the key 184 to adapt the unit to any particular situation.

While two specific embodiments of this invention have been illustrated and described in detail herein, it is obvious that many modifications in the structure disclosed may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. An incinerator disposal unit for receiving and destroying human waste comprising: a housing having an opening in the top thereof, a seat surrounding said opening, a fire box mounted in said housing directly below said opening, movable bafile means mounted in said housing above said fire box, actuating means connected to said baflle means for moving said baffle means between an uncovering position permitting introduction of material into said fire box from said opening and a covering position shielding said fire box from said opening and defining with said fire box a first air passageway extending through said fire box, second bafile means in said housing defining second air passageways substantially surrounding said first air passageway for cooling said fire box responsive to air flow through said second passageways, fuel nozzle means in said housing extending into said first air passageway for directing an incinerating stream of gas of predetermined volume against material in said fire box, and an exhaust fan having an air intake opening communicating with said first and second air passageways for drawing air through said passageways, said fan being connected to said first and second air passageways for exhausting respective first and second air streams therefrom with the volume of said first air stream exceeding said predetermined discharge volume of said nozzle and the volume of said second air stream exceeding the volume of said first air stream.

2. The disposal unit of claim 1 characterized further by the inclusion of switch means connected to said fan for controlling the operation of said fan, valve means connected to said nozzle for controlling the delivery of said incinerating stream therefrom, and control means interconnecting said fan, said valve means, and said movable baflle means for closing said switch means when said movable baffle means is in said uncovering position and preventing opening of said valve means except when said fan is operating and said movable bafile means is in said Covering position.

3. The disposal unit of claim 2 in which said valve means comprises a normally closed electrically operated solenoid valve, and said control means includes a normally open switch mounted in the exhaust stream of said fan and adapted to be closed responsive to operation of said fan with said switch being electrically connected in series with said solenoid valve.

4. The disposal unit of claim 1 in which said control means comprises: an internal timer for measuring a variable interval of time up to a maximum interval, said timer havingan electric switch adapted to be opened only after expiration of any time interval measured by said timer, actuating means interconnecting said timer and bafile means for advancing said timer for measurement of an added predetermined time interval, substantially less than said maximum interval, responsive to each movement of said bafile means from said covering position to said uncovering position until said timer accumlates said maximum interval and starting said measurement responsive to movement of said baflle means from said uncovering position to said covering position, means connecting said electric switch to said fan for operating said fan when said switch is closed, normally closed and electrically openable valve means connected to said nozzle means for controlling discharge of said incinerating stream, a second switch connected to said timer to be opened during said time interval at a predetermined time before opening of said first switch, a third switch connected to said bafiie means to be closed only when said baffle means is in said covering position, and means connecting said second and third switches to said valve means in series with each other for opening said valve means when both of said second and third switches are closed.

5. The disposal unit of claim 1 in which said control means comprises a timer having a timer element movable from a zero time position and an electric timer switch connected to said timer element to be opened only when said timer element is in said zero time position, timer actuating means connecting said timer element to said movable baflle means for moving said timer element away from said zero position responsive to movement of said bafiie means to said uncovering position and preventing movement of said timer element toward said zero position while said baifie means are in said uncovering position, and means connecting said switch to said flan for effecting operation of said fan when said switch is closed.

6. The disposal unit of claim 5 in which said timer is provided with means for moving said timer element at substantially constant speed toward said zero position and adjustable means for automatically disengaging said timer actuating means when said timer element is a predetermined maximum distance from said zero position.

7. The disposal unit of claim 6 in which said timer includes a second switch connected to be closed only when said timer element is more than a predetermined minimum distance from said zero position, with said second switch connected to said nozzle to permit discharge ofsaid incinerating stream only when said second switch is closed.

8. The disposal unit of claim 5 in which a thermally actuated switch mounted in said housing and constructed to be opened only when subjected to a temperature below a predetermined value, and said thermally actuated switch is electrically connected in parallel with said timer switch.

9. The disposal unit of claim 1 characterized further by the inclusion of a second fire box removably mounted in said first fire box with said first air passageway extending between said movable baflle means and said second to box, said second fire box having wall portions spaced from said first fire box and defining between said wall portions and said first fire box a portion of said second passageway.

10. The incinerator disposal unit of claim 1 characterized further in that said fuel nozzle means is provided with a discharge aperture through which said incinerating stream flows, and means are provided 'for movably mounting said nozzle means in said housing with said nozzle means connected to said movable bafHe means for movement between operative and inoperative positions responsive to movement of said moveable bafiie means between said covering and uncovering positions respectively, said nozzle means in said operative position being positioned generally over the center 015 said fire box with said discharge aperture iacing downwardly and in said inoperative position being laterally spaced from said fire box.

11. An incinerator disposal unit for receiving and destroying human waste which comprises: a housing having an opening in the top thereof, a seat surrounding said opening, a first fire box rigidly mounted in said housing spaced inwardly from the walls of said housing and having a concave upper surface positioned directly below said opening, a second fire box mounted in said first fire box and having an upwardly concave wall portion generally parallel to and spaced from said concave surface of said first fire box, first movable baffle means mounted in said housing between said second fire box and said opening, actuating means connected to said bafile means for moving said bafile means between an uncovering position permitting introduction of material into said second fire box and a covering position shielding said second fire box from said opening and defining with said second fire box a combustion passageway extending through said fire box, second movable baffle means mounted in said housing between said first movable baffle means and said opening and connected to said actuating means to be moved between covering and uncovering positions with respect to said first movable baffie means simultaneously with movement of the latter between its respective covering and uncovering positions, said first and second movable baflle means in their covering position defining 'a cooling passageway extending above said second fire box, fixed batfie means in said housing positioned between said first fire box and the walls of said housing and defining cooling passageways below said first fire box, fuel nozzle means in said housing extending into said combustion passageway for directing an incinerating stream of gas of predetermined volume against material in said second fire box, a plurality of air intake vents in said housing communicating with all of said cooling passageways, and an exhaust fan having an air intake opening communicating with said combustion passageway and all of said cooling passageways for drawing respective combustion and cooling streams of air therethrough with said passageways being connected together and to said intake opening of said fan for maintaining the volume of said combustion stream greater than said volume of said incinerating gas and maintaining the volume of said cooling stream greater than the volume of said combustion stream with said cooling stream and said combustion stream cornmingling before entering said fan.

12. An incinerator disposal for receiving and destroying human waste which comprises: a housing having an opening in the top thereof, a seat surrounding said opening, a fire box mounted in said housing directly below said opening for receipt of material passing through said opening, baflie means mounted in said housing movable between a covering position shielding said fire box from said opening and an uncovering position laterally spaced from said covering position, an exhaust fan having an intake passageway communicating with said fire box for exhausting combustion products from said fire box, and a fuel nozzle in said housing having a discharge opening therein for delivering an incinerating stream of gas therefrom, said fuel nozzle being movably mounted in said housing and connected to said bafile means for movement between operative and inoperative positions responsive to movement of said baffle means between said covering and uncovering positions respectively, said nozzle means in said operative position being positioned generally over the center of said fire box with said discharge aperture facing downwardly and in said inoperative position being laterally spaced from said operative position.

13. The disposal unit of claim 12 characterized further in that said nozzle means is mounted for upward pivotal movement from said operative position to said inoperative position, and second movable bathe means are mounted in said housing connected to said nozzle means for downward movement responsive to upward movement of said nozzle means with said second baffle means shielding said nozzle means from said opening when said nozzle means is in said inoperative position.

14. An incinerator disposal unit for receiving and destroying human waste which comprises: a housing having an opening in the top thereof, a seat surrounding said opening, a fire box mounted in said housing directly below said opening for receipt of material passing through said opening, baffle means mounted in said housing movable between a covering position shielding said fire box from said opening and an uncovering position laterally spaced from said covering position, a lid pivotally mounted on said housing adjacent to said seat for movement between a generally horizontal position covering said seat and a generally vertical position adjacent to said seat, actutaing means interconnecting said bafiie means and said lid for moving said baffle means between said covering and uncovering positions responsive to movement of said lid between said horizontal and vertical positions respectively, an exhaust fan having an intake passageway communicating with said fire box for exhausting combustion products from said fire box, a fuel nozzle mounted in said housing for delivering an incinerating stream of gas to said fire box, and means for controlling operation of said fan and delivery of said incinerating stream which comprises: an internal timer for measuring a variable interval of time up to a maximum interval, said timer having an electric switch adapted to be opened only after expiration of any time interval measured by said timer, actuating means interconnecting said timer and battle means for advancing said timer for measurement of an added predetermined time interval, substantially less than said maximum interval, responsive to each movement of said bafiie means from said covering position to said uncovering position until said timer accumulates said maximum interval and starting said measurement responsive to movement of said baffle means from said uncovering position to said covering positionmeans connecting said electric switch to said fan for operating said fan when said switch is closed, normally closed and electrically openable valve means connected to said nozzle means for controlling discharge of said incinerating stream, a second switch connected to said timer to be opened during said time interval at a predetermined time before opening of said first switch, a third switch connected to said bafile means to be closed only when said bafiie means is in said covering position, and means connecting said second and third switches to said valve means in series with each other for opening said valve means when both of said second and third switches are closed.

15. The disposal unit of claim 14 characterized further by the inclusion of a normally open switch mounted in the discharge stream of said fan and adapted to be closed by said discharge stream, said switch being electrically connected in series with said fan and said second and third switches.

16. The disposal unit of claim 14 characterized further by the inclusion of a thermally actuated switch mounted in said housing and adapted to be opened only when maintained below a predetermined temperature, said thermally actuated switch being connected in parallel with said first timer switch and in series with said fan.

17. The disposal unit of claim. 14 characterized further by the inclusion of means on said timer for adjusting the duration of said maximum interval which can be measured 'by said timer and means on said timer for adjusting the duration of said predetermined time interval which is added to said timer by movement of said baflie means.

18. In a disposal unit for human waste having a housing with an opening in the top thereof, a seat surrounding said opening, an actuating element, a fire box mounted in said housing for the receipt of material introduced through said opening, and electrically actuatable incinerator means connected to said fire box for incinerating material in said fire box; the improved means for controlling operation of said disposal unit which comprises an interval timer capable of accumulating and then measuring a maximum time interval capacity and having an electrical switch portion thereof adapted to be closed when said timer accumulates more than a given time interval, said switch portion being connected to said incinerator means to efiect operation of said incinerator means when said switch portion is closed, and timer actuating means interconnecting said timer and said actuating element for adding to the accumulated time on said timer a predetermined t me interval which is greater than said given time interval and substantially less than said time interval capacity responsive to actuation of said actuating element.

19. In a disposal unit for human Waste having a housing with an opening in the top thereof, a seat surrounding said opening, a lid mounted adjacent to said opening movable between a position covering said opening and a position uncovering said opening, a fire box mounted in said housing for the receipt of material introduced through said op ening, and electrically actuatable incinerator means connected to said fire box for incinerating material in said fire box; the improved means for controlilng operation of said disposal unit which comprises an interval timer capable of accumulating and then measuring a maximum time interval capacity and having an electrical switch portion thereof adapted to be closed when said timer accumulates rnore than a given time interval, said switch portion being connected to said incinerator means to effect operation of said incinerator means when said switch portion is closed, and timer actuating means interconnecting said timer and lid for adding to the accumulated time on said timer a predetermined time interval which is greater than said given time interval and substantially less than said time interval capacity responsive to movement of said lid from said covering position to said uncovering position, said timer actuating means having means for preventing said timer from measuring any time interval accumulated thereon until said lid is moved to said covering position,

20. The improved disposal unit of claim 19 characterized further in that said incinerator means includes an exhaust fan connected to said fire box to exhaust air therefrom with said fan being connected to said switch portion of said timer to be operated when said switch portion is closed; said timer has a zero time condition which it assumes after measuring time intervals accumulated thereon, and said switch portion of said timer is adapted to be opened only when said timer assumes said zero time condition.

21. The improved disposal unit of claim 19 characterized further in that said incinerator means includes a fuel supply valve having an electrically responsive element adapted to open said valve to supply fuel to said fire box, said element being connected to said switch portion to be eneng-ized when said switch portion closes, and a second switch is connected to said lid and element to permit energization of said element only when said lid is closed.

22. In a disposal unit for human waste having a housing with an opening in the top thereof, a seat surrounding said opening, a lid mounted adjacent to said opening movable between a position covering said opening and a position uncovering said opening, a fire box mounted in said housing for the receipt of material introduced through said opening, and electrically actuatable incinerator means connected to said fire box for incineratin g material in said fire box, saidincinerator means including an exhaust fan connected to said fire box to exhaust gasses therefrom and an electrically actuatable fuel supply valve; the improved means for controlling operation of said disposal unit which comprises an interval timer having a zero time condition and being capable of accumulating and then measuring a maximum time interval capacity, said timer having a first switch portion adapted to be opened only when said timer is in said zero time condition and a second switch portion adapted to be opened only when said timer has accumulated thereon less than a given fixed time interval, said first switch portion being connected to said fan to operate said fan when said first switch portion is closed, said second switch portion being connected to said valve to open said valve when said second switch portion is closed, a third switch connected to said lid and said valve to permit opening of said valve only when said lid is in said covering position, and timer actuating means interconnecting said timer and lid for adding to the accumulated time on said timer a predetermined time interval which is greater than said given time interval and substantially less than said time interval capacity responsive to movement of said lid from said covering position to said uncovering position, said timer actuating means having means for preventing said timer from measuring any time interval accumulated thereon until said lid is moved to said covering position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

Claims (2)

1. AN INCINERATOR DISPOSAL UNIT FOR RECEIVING AND DESTROYING HUMAN WASTE COMPRISING: A HOUSING HAVING AN OPENING IN THE TOP THEREOF, A SEAT SURROUNDING SAID OPENING, A FIRE BOX MOUNTED IN SAID HOUSING DIRECTLY BELOW SAID OPENING, MOVABLE BAFFLE MEANS MOUNTED IN SAID HOUSING ABOVE SAID FIRE BOX, ACTUATING MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID BAFFLE MEANS FOR MOVING SAID BAFFLE MEANS BETWEEN AN UNCOVERING POSITION PERMITTING INTRODUCTION OF MATERIAL INTO SAID FIRE BOX FROM SAID OPENING AND A COVERING POSITION SHIELDING SAID FIRE BOX FROM SAID OPENING AND DEFINING WITH SAID FIRE BOX A FIRST AIR PASSAGEWAY EXTENDING THROUGH SAID FIRE BOX, SECOND BAFFLE MEANS IN SAID HOUSING DEFINING SECOND AIR PASSAGEWAYS SUBSTANTIALLY SURROUNDING SAID FIRST AIR PASSAGEWAY FOR COOLING SAID FIRE BOX RESPONSIVE TO AIR FLOW THROUGH SAID SECOND PASSAGEWAYS, FUEL NOZZLE MEANS IN SAID HOUSING EXTENDING INTO SAID FIRST AIR PASSAGEWAY FOR DIRECTING AN INCINERATING STREAM OF GAS OF PREDETERMINED VOLUME AGAINST MATERIAL IN SAID FIRE BOX, AND AN EXHAUST FAN HAVING AN AIR INTAKE OPENING COMMUNICATING WITH SAID FIRST AND SECOND AIR PASSAGEWAYS FOR DRAWING AIR THROUGH SAID PASSAGEWAYS, SAID FAN BEING CONNECTED TO SAID FIRST AND SECOND AIR PASSAGEWAYS FOR EXHAUSTING RESPECTIVE FIRST AND SECOND AIR STREAMS THEREFROM WITH THE VOLUME OF SAID FIRST AIR STREAM EXCEEDING SAID PREDETERMINED DISCHARGE VOLUME OF SAID NOZZLE AND THE VOLUME OF SAID SECOND AIR STREAM EXCEEDING THE VOLUME OF SAID FIRST AIR STREAM.

18. IN A DISPOSAL UNIT FOR HUMAN WASTE HAVING A HOUSING WITH AN OPENING IN THE TOP THEREOF, A SEAT SURROUNDING SAID OPENING, AN ACTUATING ELEMENT, A FIRE BOX MOUNTED IN SAID HOUSING FOR THE RECEIPT OF MATERIAL INTRODUCED THROUGH SAID OPENING, AND ELECTRICALLY ACTUATABLE INCINERATOR MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID FIRE BOX FOR INCINERATING MATERIAL IN SAID FIRE BOX; THE IMPROVED MEANS FOR CONTROLLING OPERATION OF SAID DISPOSAL UNIT WHICH COMPRISES AN INTERVAL TIMER CAPABLE OF ACCUMULATING AND THEN MEASURING A MAXIMUM TIME INTERVAL CAPACITY AND HAVING AN ELECTRICAL SWITCH PORTION THEREOF ADAPTED TO BE CLOSED WHEN SAID TIMER ACCUMULATES MORE THAN A GIVEN TIME INTERVAL, SAID SWITCH PORTION BEING CONNECTED TO SAID INCINERATOR MEANS TO EFFECT OPERATION OF SAID INCINERATOR MEANS WHEN SAID SWITCH PORTION IS CLOSED, AND TIMER ACTUATING MEANS INTERCONNECTING SAID TIMER AND SAID ACTUATING ELEMENT FOR ADDING TO THE ACCUMULATED TIME ON SAID TIMER A PREDETERMINED TIME INTERVAL WHICH IS GREATER THAN SAID GIVEN TIME INTERVAL AND SUBSTANTIALLY LESS THAN SAID TIME INTERVAL CAPACITY RESPONSIVE TO ACTUATION OF SAID ACTUATING ELEMENT.

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