US3829909A

US3829909A - Recirculating toilet

Info

Publication number: US3829909A
Application number: US00338200A
Authority: US
Inventors: T Woltanski; R Rod; Rey M Del
Original assignee: Monogram Industries Inc
Current assignee: MAG Aerospace Industries LLC
Priority date: 1973-03-05
Filing date: 1973-03-05
Publication date: 1974-08-20
Anticipated expiration: 1991-08-20

Abstract

A recirculating toilet employs an oil as a reusable, inoffensive, flushing fluid. Human waste products are collected, the oil is separated, and the waste products are periodically transferred for disposition. The flushing fluid is filtered and recycled for further use.

Description

United States Patent [1 1 Rod et al.

[ Aug. 20, 1974 RECIRCULATING TOILET [75] Inventors: Robert L. Rod, Marina Del Rey;

Theodore M. Woltanski, Hawthorne,

both of Calif.

[73] Assignee: Monogram Industries, Inc., Santa Monica, Calif.

[22] Filed: Mar. 5, 1973 21 1 Appl. No.: 338,200

[52] US. Cl 4/10, 4/77, 4/80, 4/90 [51] Int. Cl E03d l/00, E03d 3/00, E03d 5/00 [58] Field of Search 4/1, 10, 131, 77, 79, 78, 4/70, 12, 76, 89, 111, 114, 115, 249, 80, 90,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,858,939 ll/l958 Corliss ..4/10

3,032,776 5/1962 Obert et al 4/ 3,079,612 3/1963 Corliss 3,431,563 3/1969 Rascov 3,487,475 l/l970 Minniear...

3,611,447 10/1971 Howard 3,673,614 7/1972 Claunch 4/10 Primary Examiner-Henry K. Artis Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Miketta, Glenny, Poms & Smith [5 7 ABSTRACT A recirculating toilet employs an oil as a reusable, inoffensive, flushing fluid. Human waste products are collected, the oil is separated, and the waste products are periodically transferred for disposition. The flushing fluid is filtered and recycled for further use.

15 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures REsERVmQ COAL- ga escek PuMP HOLDING TA m RECIRCULATING TOILET RELATED PATENTS AND APPLICATIONSIN THE PRIOR ART The most significant prior art is set forth in applica tions for patents entitled Recirculating Toilet by Donald A. Dotson, et al., Ser. No. 212,423, filed Dec. 27, 1971 and Oil Recovery System by Norris J. Bishton, Jr., Ser. No. 212,594, filed Dec. 27, I971, and in patents issued to Obert, et al., US. Pat. No. 3,032,776; Rascov, US. Pat. No. 3,431,563; and Claunch, US. Pat. No. 3,673,614.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the invention The present invention relates to recirculating sanitary systems and, more particularly, to a recirculating toilet system utilizing a flushing fluid of a lower density and specific gravity than the waste products that is immiscible therewith.

2. Description of the Prior Art Recirculating sanitary systems are now well known in the art and have been described and shown in the above set forth prior art patents and applications. Recirculating toilets of the various commercially available types have, for the most part, utilized water as the reusable flushing fluid.

It has been deemed a problem of the prior art, when considering the disposal of waste products, that even the limited amounts of water required in a recirculating toilet system consumed substantial amounts of energy in its disposition. Most prior art techniques have required that the water component accompanying human wastes must either be extensively treated to bring it to a quality suitable for release into the environment or that it be incinerated together with the other waste products, thereby returning it to the environment in the form of water vapor.

In the above-identified applications of Dotson, et al., and Bishton, Jr., it was proposed that a recirculating toilet system utilize an oil as the flushing fluid to further limit the water component of the waste materials. The

use of an oil had been suggested in the prior art patentsto Obert, et al., and Roscov, supra. Obert, et al., had taught the reuse of oil as a flushing liquid after the waste had been ground and transported to a settling tank. Because of the difference in specific gravity, the flushing liquid separated out as an upper layer and was siphoned off through a line for return to the flush tank or the reservoir. In other embodiments, a fuel oil was used and was burned with the waste products as a part of the normal combustion system producing power and heat. Similarly, Rascov taught an incinerating apparatus for immediate disposition of the waste.

Most recently, the patent to Claunch, supra, taught a more or less conventional toilet bowl and tank, which was connected to recirculate a nonaqueous flush medium. A pressurized fluid reservoir stored fluid not otherwise held in the toilet tank. A special waste compartment was provided which enabled the separation of the flush medium from the waste.

In Claunch, the waste products were admitted at the base of a separating tank. The flush fluid was permitted to rise in the tank through a screen filter above the waste to a storage area from whence fluid was withdrawn through a coalescer filter. The waste products were periodically withdrawn from the separating tank using level and weight sensors which initiated the operation of a macerator-grinder.

The waste was then transferred to a final disposal element, for example, an incinerator. Other sensors terminated the transfer operation when the level of the flush medium fell below a predetermined desired level.

The Claunch system included a number of floats and sensors, all of which were required to operate in the hostile environment of the waste products. Further, the operation of the system depended upon the proper and orderly operation of the plurality of sensors, switches, and electrically operable valves, and a plurality of protective redundant switches and alarm circuits were necessary for the operation of the system.

It has been deemed desirable to have a simplified recirculating system that is more reliable and more easily maintained. It has also been felt desirable that some improved toilet fixture should be provided since the flushing fluid is not generally a solvent for the human waste products that must be accommodated by the system. Such a system should also be adapted for use with multiple toilets and a single fluid supply as part of a housing complex or in a large vehicle, such as a ship or large aircraft.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a recirculating toilet system employs a nonaqueous flushing fluid in a specially coated toilet bowl. In a preferred embodiment, the toilet bowl has applied to the interior thereof a coating of Teflon, which substantially enhances the flushing and bowl cleaning capability of the flushing fluid. The wastes are emptied into a large separating tank, having a substantially converging taper from top to bottom.

A vertical screen divides the tank into a solids collecting portion and a filtered fluid portion. A drain or dump valve at the base of the tank on the solids collecting portion side is connected to a macerator-grinder pump which, when energized, finely comminutes and transports the wastes as a slurry to an alternative receptacle.

The flushing fluid overlies the waste products in the tank. A floating intake is mounted in the separating tank on the filtered fluid side to collect flushing fluid from near the upper surface. A pump connected to the intake withdraws flushing fluid from the tank and passes the fluid through a coalescer and a filter and returns the fluid to a more or less conventional toilet tank mounted on the toilet bowl. The toilet tank may contain the conventional siphon valve and ball cock assembly with a float, which closes the valve when a proper fluid level has been reached. The pump can be energized by a switch coupled to the flush control, a switch which may be operated by the tank float or by a switch connected to the intake float in the separating tank.

The pump can operate until either the float terminates the filling operation or a pressure sensor detects the closure of the siphon valve and the resulting pressure build-up in the line between the pump and the toilet tank.

Periodically, as the level of the waste products rises in the separating tank, the dump valve and maceratorgrinder can be operated to remove the accumulated wastes. Means are provided to close the dump valve before any of the flushing liquid reaches the valve.

In alternative embodiments, a plurality of toilets, each with its own tank, drain through a common waste line to a separating tank. A floating intake in the separating tank is coupled to a pump which returns fluid to a main reservoir which, in turn, refills the several toilet tanks as the toilets are operated.

The operation of the pump can be initiated by a rise in the level of flushing fluid above a predetermined level in the separating tank and terminated either by a predetermined drop in level in the separating tank or fluid above a predetermined level in the reservoir. In this embodiment, the toilets, except for the special coating of the bowl, can be substantially conventional without other modification. However, the toilet tanks can be eliminated if an appropriate flush control is provided which admits a predetermined volume of fluid to the bowl for each use.

The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the invention, both as to organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, will be better understood from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which several preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of example. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram of a recirculating toilet system according to the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a multiple toilet recirculating system according to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Turning first to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a recirculating toilet system according to the present invention. The system includes a toilet 12 with an attached tank 14 mounted to a floor structure 16. A conventional sanitary trap 18 connects the toilet 12 to the waste pipe 20, which empties into a separating tank 22.

Normally, flushing fluid 24 is stored in the tank 14, and as with conventional systems, an additional quantity of fluid stands in the bowl 12 supported by the sanitary trap 18, which creates an odor seal between the toilet 12 and the tank 22. The toilet tank 14 may include a conventional filling mechanism, such as a float operated valve or ball cock which, when the tank 14 is empty, admits flushing fluid 24. When the fluid 24 in the toilet tank 14 rises above a predetermined level, the float closes the valve to further fluid.

The separating tank 22, in the preferred embodiment, has an inverted taper shape and is wider at the top than at the base. A filter screen 26 vertically divides the separating tank 22 roughly in half into a solids collecting portion and a filtered fluid portion. The screen 26 is of a mesh sufficiently fine to prevent the passage of most waste solids and paper products that are normally found in a toilet system.

The fluid component of the waste, however, can of course pass through the screen 26. In the solids collecting portion of the tank 22, a drain or dump valve 28 is placed in the base thereof and communicates with a macerator-grinder pump 30. In the other half of the separator tank 22, an intake float 32 is pivotally mounted with a flexible coupling to the edge of the tank 22 and is provided with a plurality of intake orifices, intended to withdraw fluid 24 from just below the upper surface. I

An intake line 34 goes from the intake float 32 to a pump 36, the output of which is applied to a coalescer 38 and a filter 40. Any waste products collected in the coalescer 38 are returned through a drain line 42 to the waste side of the tank 22 for subsequent disposition. The output of the filter 40 is applied to the toilet tank 14 through the ball cock valve thereof.

Normally, waste products will collect in the tank 22, and the solids will be retained in the one section by the vertical filter 26. The liquid portion of the human wastes passes through the filter and forms a liquid phase below the flushing fluid 24. Depending upon the dimensions of the separating tank 22, it may be assumed that the tank will hold sufficient flushing fluid to fill the toilet tank 14, provide a fluid charge standing in the toilet 12 above the trap, and provide a sealing layer over the waste products with a reserve of fluid.

After the toilet has been used, operation of the flush mechanism permits the toilet tank 14 to empty into the bowl 12. The added weight of the tanks contents causes the fluid 24 to pass through the sanitary trap 18, thereby flushing the waste products through the drain 20 and into the separating tank 22. The waste products are retained in the tank 22, and the flushing fluid settles above the waste layer.

In one embodiment, as the intake float 32 is carried above a preset level, the pump 36 is energized and flushing fluid 24 is withdrawn from the separator tank 22. The flushing fluid 24 may include some fine particles of paper or other foreign matter that have neither settled out nor have been excluded by the screen filter 26.

Some of these foreign particles are collected in the coalescer 38 and are returned to the waste side of the tank 22 through the return line 42. The fluid is then passed through the filter 40, and the filtered liquid is returned to the toilet tank 14. So long as the float on the ball cock valve is below the preset upper limit, fluid will be admitted to the tank 14. As the tank fills, the valve is closed and appropriate circuits terminate the operation of the pump 36.

When sufficient waste has accumulated in the holding tank 22, the dump valve 28 is opened and the macerator-grinder 30 is energized to grind and comminute the accumulated waste products into a slurry, which is easily pumped through a waste line 44 to either a storage tank (not shown) or an incinerator, such as is shown in Claunch, supra.

As in the prior art, the draining of the waste products can be initiated and terminated by appropriate floats and/or level sensors, or may merely be a manual operation initiated by an observation by the height of the flushing fluid component 24 in the tank 22. When the level of that fluid 24 rises above a predetermined point, it may be safely assumed that sufficient waste has accumulated for operation of the macerator pump.

The use of a floating intake assures an uninterrupted supply of the cleanest available flushing fluid in the tank 12. Because the tank 22 may be provided with any desired volume, an excess accumulation of wastes does not in any way jeopardize or limit the operation of the intake 32 and the pump 36. So long as there is some flushing fluid in the tank 22, the floating intake 32 is arranged to withdraw that fluid from a point near the surface, avoiding contamination by the liquid waste component which may be found in the tank.

Turning now to FIG. 2, there is shown, by way of example, a multiple-story dwelling including a plurality of toilets 112, each on a different level. Each toilet includes a toilet tank 114 and a connection through a floor 116 and a conventional trap 118 to a common waste pipe 120. The waste pipe 120 discharges into a large separating tank 122 which can be substantially identical, except for scale, to the tank 22 of FIG. 1.

Similarly, a pump 136, coalescer 138, and filter 140 are also included in a fluid recirculating line that utilizes a floating intake 132 near the upper surface of the flush fluid 24 that is stored in the tank 22.

The output of the filter 140 is to a large storage tank 150, which provides, through a single output line 152,

flushing fluid to each of the toilet tanks 114 of the several toilets 112. Alternatively, if appropriate flush controls are provided, such as timed valves, the individual tanks 114 may be omitted and the storage tank may connect directly to the toilet bowls 112.

As in the single toilet system of FIG.'1, each toilet 112 flushes in a more or less conventional manner, depositing a combination of waste products and flushing fluid into the separating tank 122. As the level of the flushing fluid 124 rises in the tank 122, the pump 130 can be energized to transfer fluid from the separating tank 122 into the storage tank 150. The storage tank 150 normally provides fluid through the refill line 152 to the several toilet tanks 114 after each toilet has been flushed.

In yet other embodiments, the separating tank can be modified by replacing the vertical screen filter witha vertical partition or baffle that does not extend to the top of the tank, but rather terminates at some convenient, intermediate level. The height of the baffle is determined by the volume of waste products which may be stored prior to draining.

In these embodiments, the flushing fluid is initially found on both sides of the partition with sufficient fluid for operation of the system. As in the other embodiments, the floating fluid intake rides at or near the surface of the flushing fluid in the filtered fluid part of the tank.

The separating tank receives the contents of a flushed toilet, and an initial separation takes place merely in adding the mixture to the tank. Flushing fluid displaced by waste products flows over the partition into the filtered fluid part of the tank. Since wastes are not comminuted or ground, the separation does not require a screen filter. Any particulate matter that does find its way into the intake will be retrieved by either the coalescer or the filter.

in this embodiment, however, some provision should be made to transfer any waste products from the intake side of the tank to the waste side of the separator tank. This can be accomplished by permitting communication between the tank portions at the base of the tank. Further, the partition may terminate above the base of the tank to assure that the dump valve will be at or near the lowest point of the tank.

In order to improve the performance of the individual toilet bowls 112 and to increase the aesthetic acceptance of such toilets, a nonstick coating, which may be a Teflon compound, is applied to the inner surface of the bowl 112. This low-friction coating is deemed desirable since the flushing fluid is substantially immiscible with the waste products.

Normally, should waste material adhere to a conventional toilet bowl, the flush water tends to dissolve the matter and wash it from the bowl. Since the oil-based fluid utilized cannot dissolve the waste products, it is deemed important that the bowl surface be substantially nonadherent at the outset to avoid such occurrences.

Thus there has been shown in several embodiments an improved recirculating toilet system utilizing a nonaqueous flushing medium, such as an oil. The individual bowls are coated with a nonstick material, such as Teflon, to facilitate flushing and to assure that the bowl remains clean at all times.

An improved separating tank has also been shown which incorporates a vertical screen filter. The separating tank is an inverted taper shape, being wider at the mouth than at the base. On the waste products side of the screen filter, a dump valve and macerator-grinder pump are located for periodically removing the waste products from the separating tank. On the filtered side of the separating tank, a floating intake is mounted to withdraw flushing fluid from just below the surface.

A pump applies the withdrawn flushing fluid through a coalescer and filter and returns it to the toilet tank. Where multiple toilets are placed on the same system, each toilet is connected to a common waste drain, which empties into a separating tank. The individual toilets are connected to a fluid storage reservoir which is filled by the pump that withdraws flushing fluid from the separating tank.

The use of the vertical screen filter for dividing the tank, in combination with the floating fluid intake, assures that any delay in the draining of the accumulated waste products will not result in a forcing of waste products through the screen filter and into the intake of the pump, although some prior art systems would be susceptible to this kind of failure should the tank not be drained after the predetermined amount of waste material has been added. 7

It will be clear to those skilled in the art that other variants and modifications of the present invention may be undertaken without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be limited only by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed as new is:

1. A recirculating toilet system comprising in combination:

a. toilet means having a bowl, including a substantially nonadhering inner surface to prevent retention of waste matter;

b. waste pipe means coupled to said toilet bowl for draining the contents thereof;

c. nonaqueous flushing fluid, substantially immiscible with water and human wastes and having a relatively lower density and specific gravity for floating thereon;

d. separating means including a separating tank connected to receive the output of said waste pipe means, said tank having a substantially vertical barrier means for providing a waste storage portion in said tank;

e. flushing fluid intake means in said separating tank including a float member capable of floating substantially at the surface of said flushing fluid for withdrawing flushing fluid therefrom; and

f. fluid recirculating means coupled to said intake means and said toilet means, including filter and pump means for applying filtered flushing fluid withdrawn from said separating tank to said toilet means for use in disposing of wastes deposited therein.

2. A recirculating toilet system as in claim 1, above, further including drain means including a pump coupled to the base of said separating tank for removing collected wastes therefrom.

3. The recirculating toilet system of claim 1, above, wherein said barrier means includes a screen member permeable to said flushing fluid.

4. The recirculating toilet system of claim 1, above, wherein said flushing fluid intake means are mounted in the tank portion remote from said waste storage portion.

5. A recirculating toilet system as in claim 1, above, wherein said fluid recirculating means further include a coalescer and waste return meanscoupled to said separating means, for returning collected wastes to said waste storage portion thereof.

6. The recirculating toilet system of claim 1, above, further comprising actuating means connectedto said fluid recirculating means'and operable in response to a predetermined raise in level of flushing fluid in said separating means for initiating operation of said fluid recirculating means.

7. The recirculating toilet system of claim 1, above, wherein said toilet means further include a tank having afloat controlled valve assembly coupled to saidfluid recirculating means, for interim storage of flushing fluid.

8. The recirculating toilet system of claim 6, above, further including control means connected to said valve assembly and said fluid recirculating means, for operating said filter and pump means in response to the state of said valve assembly.

9. A recirculating toilet system comprising in combination:

a. toilet means including a plurality of toilets, each having a bowl, including a substantially nonadhering inner surface to prevent retention of waste matter;

b. waste pipe means coupled to each of said toilet bowls for draining the contents thereof;

e. flushing fluid intake means in said separating tank including a float member capable of floating substantially at the surface of said flushing fluid for withdrawing flushing fluid therefrom;

f. flushing fluid storage means coupled to said toilet means for supplying flushing fluid thereto; and

g. fluid recirculating means coupled to said intake means and said flushing fluid storage means, ineluding filter and pump means for applying filtered flushing fluid withdrawn from said separating tank to said'storage means for use in disposing of wastes .deposited in said toilet means.

10. A recirculating toilet system as in claim 9, above, further including drain means including a pump coupled to the base of said separating tank for removing collected wastes therefrom. v

11. The recirculating toilet system of claim 9, above, wherein said barrier meansincludes a screen member permeable to said flushing fluid.

12. The recirculating toilet system of claim 9, above, wherein said flushing fluid intake means are mounted in the tank portion remote from said waste storage portion.

13. A recirculating toilet system as in claim 9, above, wherein said fluid recirculating means further include a coalescer and waste return means coupled to said separating means, for returning collected wastes to said waste storage portion thereof.

14. The recircluating toilet system of claim 9, above further comprising actuating means connected to said fluid recirculating means and operable in response to a predetermined raise in level of flushing in said separating means forjinitiaitingioperation of.said fluifreclrculatirfi ineans. 'wqw 15. The recirculating toilet system of claim 9, above, further including a plurality of flush control means respectively connected to each of said toilets and said flushing fluid storage means, and each operable to apply a predetermined charge of flushing fluid to the respective toilet'from said flushing fluid storage means.

Claims

1. A recirculating toilet system comprising in combination: a. toilet means having a bowl, including a substantially nonadhering inner surface to prevent retention of waste matter; b. waste pipe means coupled to said toilet bowl for draining the contents thereof; c. nonaqueous flushing fluid, substantially immiscible with water and human wastes and having a relatively lower density and specific gravity for floating thereon; d. separating means including a separating tank connected to receive the output of said waste pipe means, said tank having a substantially vertical barrier means for providing a waste storage portion in said tank; e. flushing fluid intake means in said separating tank including a float member capable of floating substantially at the surface of said flushing fluid for withdrawing flushing fluid therefrom; and f. fluid recirculating means coupled to said intake means and said toilet means, including filter and pump means for applying filtered flushing fluid withdrawn from said separating tank to said toilet means for use in disposing of wastes deposited therein.

3. The recirculating toilet system of claim 1, above, wherein said barrier means include screen member permeable to said flushing fluid.

5. A recirculating toilet system as in claim 1, above, wherein said fluid recirculating means further include a coalescer and waste return means coupled to said separating means, for returning collected wastes to said waste storage portion thereof.

6. The recirculating toilet system of claim 1, above, further comprising actuating means connected to said fluid recirculating means and operable in response to a predetermined raise in level of flushing fluid in said separating means for initiating operation of said fluid recirculating means.

7. The recirculating toilet system of claim 1, above, wherein said toilet means further include a tank having float controlled valve assembly coupled to said fluid recirculating means, for interim storage of flushing fluid.

9. A recirculating toilet system comprising in combination: a. toilet means including a plurality of toilets, each having a bowl, including a substantially nonadhering inner surface to prevent retention of waste matter; b. waste pipe means coupled to each of said toilet bowls for draining the contents thereof; c. nonaqueous flushing fluid, substantially immiscible with water and human wastes and having a relatively lower density and specific gravity for floating thereon; d. separating means including a separating tank connected to receive the output of said waste pipe means, said tank having a substantially vertical barrier means for providing a waste storage portion in said tank; e. flushing fluid intake means in said separating tank including a float member capable of floating substantially at the surface of said flushing fluid for withdrawing flushing fluid therefrom; f. flushing fluId storage means coupled to said toilet means for supplying flushing fluid thereto; and g. fluid recirculating means coupled to said intake means and said flushing fluid storage means, including filter and pump means for applying filtered flushing fluid withdrawn from said separating tank to said storage means for use in disposing of wastes deposited in said toilet means.

10. A recirculating toilet system as in claim 9, above, further including drain means including a pump coupled to the base of said separating tank for removing collected wastes therefrom.

11. The recirculating toilet system of claim 9, above, wherein said barrier means include screen member permeable to said flushing fluid.

14. The recirculating toilet system of claim 1, above, further comprising actuating means connected to said fluid recirculating means and operable in response to a predetermined raise in level of flushing fluid in said separating means for initiating operation of said fluid recirculating means.

15. The recirculating toilet system of claim 9, above, further including a plurality of flush control means respectively connected to each of said toilets and said flushing fluid storage means, and each operable to apply a predetermined charge of flushing fluid to the respective toilet from said flushing fluid storage means.