Abstract:
The invention discloses a treatment apparatus for the excrement and a bio-toilet using the treatment apparatus. The treatment apparatus includes a tank, a reactor basin in the tank for containing the raw material and the excrement and having at least two parallel, concave parts having curved profile in the bottom part of the tank, a temperature control means for maintaining the temperature of the basin at a predetermined range; and at least two mixing devices which match with the at least two concave parts, each of them can rotate around a rotation shaft, the helical blade stirrer secured to the rotation shaft by a plurality of spokes. The bio-toilet is waterless, and thus a large quantity of water can be saved and the pollution of the environment due to the drainage of sewage can be avoided. Furthermore, treated by the treatment apparatus of the present invention, the microorganisms and the organic materials are combined and converted into stable loosen soil and the organic components. The load applied to the environment will be decreased and the environmental protection will be most effective by using the bio-toilet of the present invention.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a bio-toilet, particularly to a treatment apparatus which can decompose and convert excrement into organic fertilizer. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     As a kind of conventional toilet, flushing toilet has been broadly used in cities. Using this kind of toilet, some kind of transport scheme has to be used firstly, then the excrement can be treated by an urban sewage treatment system. However, the treatment capacity of the urban sewage treatment system is limited and the conventional treatment method not only uses up large quantity of water, but also pollutes the environment due to its improper and non-recycling treatment of excrement. Hence, as people increasingly realized the importance of environmental protection, a variety of bio-toilets were developed. For example, in a bio-toilet disclosed by JP3160859, as shown in  FIGS. 1A-1B , human waste—excrement and urine fall down directly into a treatment apparatus  10  of the conventional bio-toilet. The treatment apparatus  10  includes a reactor basin  12 , a rotation shaft  14  driven by a motor  16  extending through the whole length of the basin  12  and a plurality of blades  18  secured to the rotation shaft  14 . On one hand, these blades  18  stir the sawdust and human waste as the rotation shaft rotates, and on the other hand, blades  18  can also convey the treated excrement to the location away from the drop inlet. By adjusting the heating means  20 , the temperature of the reactor basin  12  is maintained constant so as to refrain the microorganism in human waste from growing. In this way, after sawdust and human waste are mixed for a predetermined time period, the organic materials in the excrement are decomposed sufficiently and converted into organic fertilizer. However, in fact, in this treatment apparatus  10 , the treatment efficiency is too low to be satisfactory in composting due to the limited capacity for treatment of the individual rotating shaft and insufficiently mixing of the prior art between the sawdust and human waste. In addition, the treatment apparatus of the prior art could not avoid the hardened trouble which is caused by the mixture of the sawdust and excrement and thus will be easily broken due to the increase of the torque load. Therefore, the bio-toilet of prior art could not be widely applied to the public sites, such as tourist sites, hospitals, temporary performance sites, construction sites, livestock farms, or parks etc., as the bio-toilet might be used frequently. 
     In general, in this bio-toilet of prior art, it takes a few days for the human waste to be converted into organic fertilizer. The human waste and sawdust in the reactor basin  12  is of being conveyed by the blades  18 , however, it is hard time to face the trouble caused by the hardened mixture. Also, as shown in  FIG. 1C , the urinary inlet and drop inlet must be spaced apart by a predetermined distance and the urinary inlet is often provided at one side of reactor basin, causing the uniformity of the mixture of the human waste and sawdust decreased. This is why the bio-toilet of prior art can only has a single mixing devise and can not increase the treatment capacity and efficiency by using more mixing devise with larger diameter. 
     As shown in the figures, although the profile of the bottom of the conventional reactor basin matches with that of blades  18 , the harden problem can not fully eliminated. Furthermore, under present conditions, only by increasing the height of the reactor basin can the capacity of the reactor basin  12  be increased. Thus, it is difficult to entry into the bio-toilet and feed the sawdust. Due to the forgoing disadvantages, the maintenance for the conventional bio-toilet is troublesome and its use is dramatically limited. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the invention is to provide a treatment apparatus for use in a bio-toilet, which comprises a tank, the top plate of which having at least one drop inlet; a reactor basin in the tank for containing the raw material and excrement, provided with concave parts having curved profile on the bottom of the basin; a temperature control means provided on an outer surface of the reactor basin for maintaining the temperature within the reactor basin at a predetermined range; and at least two mixing devices, spaced apart each other, each of which respectively has a rotation shaft and a helical blade stirrer provided on the rotation shaft by a plurality of spokes and is matched with each concave parts. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide a bio-toilet with high treatment capacity, which comprises a house being divided into two spaces by a floor. The space under the floor is provided with a tank, the top plate of which having at least one drop inlet; a reactor basin in the tank for containing the raw material and excrement, provided with concave parts having curved profile on the bottom; a temperature control means for maintaining the temperature within the reactor basin at a predetermined range; and at least two mixing devices for mixing the raw materials and excrement. The mixing devices are spaced apart each other, each of which respectively has a rotation shaft and a helical blade stirrer provided on the rotation shaft by a plurality of spokes and is matched with each concave parts. A driving means and a control unit are provided outside the tank for driving two mixing devices. The present invention can improve its performance and shorten dramatically the human waste treatment period by guiding the urine to the location where the sawdust located using a conduit. 
     A main object of the invention is to provide a treatment method for decomposing organic human waste, comprising the steps of providing a reactor basin for filling raw materials; providing a temperature control means for maintaining the temperature within the basin at a at a predetermined range; disposing two mixing devices in reactor basin for mixing the raw material and excrement; disposing a timer for detecting a time interval during which the mixing devices are in still state; and when the time interval is equal to a predetermined value, driving the mixing devices to stir the raw material. Therefore, using the treatment apparatus comprising two rotating devises, the microorganisms in the sawdust reproduce in such a great numbers under high temperature that they speed up the decomposition of the organic materials and thus treatment efficiency increased. 
     According to an aspect of the invention, by providing two rotating devises in the reactor basin so as to sufficiently mixing human waste and sawdust, the microorganisms under high temperature reproduce in such a great numbers that the treatment period for decomposing excrement is shortened and the efficiency for the composting is increased. Since this process for decomposing human waste is executed under high temperature, the pathogenic bacteria can be killed and offensive odor can be eliminated. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, since urine is guided to the location where the excrement is located, the offensive odor produced by the volatilization of the urine is decreased, making the bio-toilet of the invention more welcome by people. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, since the urine is guided directly to the location where the treated excrement is located, the organic components in the urine can speed up the decomposition of the excrement, and thus shorten the conversion period from human waste into organic fertilizer. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, since the bio-toilet of the invention is of a waterless type, a large quantity of water is saved and the problem associated with the pollution of environment caused by drainage of the sewage is eliminated, making the load applied to the environment decreased and the environmental protection most effective. Furthermore, treated by the treatment apparatus of the present invention, the microorganisms and the organic materials are combined and converted into stable loosen soil and the organic components such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium contained by it are combined with sawdust to produce loose and high quality organic fertilizer and soil reformer, making the soil improved, the natural materials recycled and pollution of the environment decreased. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For a better understanding the preferred embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings, in which 
         FIG. 1A-1C  is a schematic view of the treatment apparatus of the prior art, showing the urinary inlet and the drop inlet; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a treatment apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, showing two mixing devices parallel to each other in a reactor basin; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of helical blade stirrer shown in  FIG. 2 , showing the helical is of discontinuous; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic view of a toilet comprising the treatment apparatus shown in  FIG. 2 , showing helical blade stirrer is divided into two parts and the helical direction of two parts are disposed oppositely; 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic end view of the toilet shown in  FIG. 4 , showing the two mixing devices overlapping partially; 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a top plate of the treatment apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, showing that a conduit provided at an inner side thereof is communicated with a urinary inlet and; 
         FIG. 7  is an explosive perspective view of a toilet according to another preferred embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of helical blade stirrer shown in  FIG. 7 ; 
         FIG. 9  is a top view of the treatment apparatus shown in  FIG. 7 , showing the helical blade stirrer is divided into two parts, of which helical direction is disposed oppositely; 
         FIG. 10  is an end view of the treatment apparatus shown in  FIG. 7 , showing the two mixing devices spaced apart; 
         FIG. 11  is a schematic view of the reactor basin; 
         FIG. 12  shows a support on the bottom plate; 
         FIG. 13  is a perspective bottom view of a conduit according to the present invention, showing a plurality of dispensing holes; 
         FIG. 14  is a schematic view of a holder for a temperature control means; 
         FIG. 15  is enlarged views for schematically showing juncture between the side plate and the top plate, showing a insulation element provided at the juncture; 
         FIG. 16  schematically shows the structure of the bio-toilet of the invention, 
         FIG. 17A  is a schematic view of the treatment apparatus shown in  FIG. 7  with its end plates removed, showing a holder for electrical control means; 
         FIG. 17B  is a perspective view of the holder; 
         FIG. 18  is a flowchart describing the treatment process for discomposing the human waste; and 
         FIG. 19  is a flowchart describing the operation of the helical blade stirrer of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The invention uses the so-called composting, by which organic materials are decomposed and converted into CO 2 , water, heat and organic fertilizer by microorganisms such as bacteria and actinomycete which exist everywhere in the nature. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , a treatment apparatus for excrement  100  of the present invention has a tank  101 , a reactor basin  102  provided in the tank for containing the sawdust and excrement and two mixing devices  104   a  and  104   b  which are provided in the reactor basin and overlapped partially in this embodiment. As shown in  FIG. 3 , each of two mixing devices  104 ( a, b ) comprises a rotation shaft  106  and a helical blade stirrer  108  which is divided into two parts respectively located at each end of the rotation shaft  106 . The helical of each stirrer  108  is of discontinuous and is secured to the rotation shaft  106  by spokes  110 . Particularly, the projection for the helical of the present invention on a plane perpendicular to the rotation shaft  106  is a whole circle, ensuring that the sawdust is stirred uniformly. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , the helical direction of each part of stirrer  108  is disposed oppositely, that is, if the helical of blade at one end of the shaft is right-hand, the helical of blade at other end of the shaft is left-hand, and vice versa. So the two parts of the helical blade stirrer  108  can convey the sawdust from each end of the reactor basin  102  to the central region as the mixing device  104  rotates. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , the helical blade stirrer  108   a  and  108   b  of the mixing devices  104   a  and  104   b  are overlapped partially so as to decrease the dead area in which may form a hardened heap. 
     Since an appropriate temperature is necessary for decomposing the organic materials, a temperature control means  112  is provided on outer side surface of the basin for maintaining the temperature within the basin at a predetermined constant temperature. On the other hand, the predetermined temperature can refrain the microorganisms in the excrement from growing and eliminate offensive odor, making the bio-toilet more welcome by people. According to the present invention, the basin  102  has a drop inlet  114  and a urinary inlet  116 , by which the excrement can drop directly down into the basin and mix with the sawdust. According to the embodiments of the present invention, with respect to the same volume of the reactor basin, the height of the tank can be decreased due to the increased width of the basin. 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , to make the treatment apparatus of the invention more compact, the two mixing devices  104   a  and  104   b  are parallel to each other, that is, the rotation shafts  106   a  and  106   b  have the same height and extend through the whole length of the basin. Furthermore, the helical blade stirrer  108   a ,  108   b  of the two mixing devices  104   a  and  104   b  are evenly staggered along the shaft  106  and are overlapped partially so as to sufficiently mix and stir sawdust. 
     Furthermore, the helical blade stirrer  108  ( a, b ) can convey the sawdust towards the central region of the basin  102  with rotation of the shaft  106 . Thus, the excrement could be carried away from the drop inlet  114  to ensure the uniformity for the mixture of sawdust and excrement. In this way, it is conceivable that the sawdust outside the areas where can be reached by the stirrer  108  will be piled up, so much as hardened, due to stillness of the sawdust for some times. Returning back to  FIG. 3 , the present invention not only defines the helical direction for two parts of stirrer  108  to be opposed with each other, but defines two pulvimixing rings  120  as well at outer side of the two parts of each stirrer  108 , which is also secured to the shaft by spokes  122 . Specially, a plurality of blocks for loosing  124  are spaced around the circumference of each ring  120  for stirring and loosing the sawdust. According to the preferred embodiment, the mixture of sawdust and excrement can be preferably piled up at the center region of the basin  102  and thus has to spread from this central region to all directions with the rotation of shaft  106 . In addition, the drop inlet  114  of the present invention should be provided adjacent to one end of the mixing devices  104   a  and  104   b  and substantially aligned to the mixing devices  104   a  and  104   b  vertically to prevent the heap of compost in the central region of the basin from influencing the usage of the bio-toilet. 
     Preferably, the top plate  130  of the present invention comprises an opening  132  for feeding sawdust and removing the converted fertilizer and a conduit  134  at the inner side of the top plate  130 , as shown in  FIG. 6 . The inlet of the conduit  134  is connected with the urinary inlet  116  and the outlet of the conduit  134  extends towards the central region of the basin  102  or adjacent to the drop inlet  114  for guiding urine so as to have the urine and excrement mixed sufficiently. 
       FIG. 7  is an explosive perspective view of a toilet according to another preferred embodiment of the invention. The treatment apparatus  200  has a tank  201 , a reactor basin  202  in the tank for containing the sawdust and human waste and two mixing devices  230  provided in the reactor basin. A temperature control means  220  is provided on an outer surface of the basin  202  for maintaining the temperature within the basin at a predetermined range. The top plate  203  of the tank  201  comprises at least one drop inlet  204  which is substantially aligned to one end of mixing devices  230  vertically. 
     Likewise, each of two mixing devices  203  comprises, as shown in  FIG. 8 , the helical blade stirrer  234  of each mixing device  230  is divided into two parts which are respectively arranged at ends of the rotating shaft  232 . Also, the helical direction of the stirrer  234  is disposed oppositely. Then, two pulvimixing rings  238  is provided at the outer side of the stirrer  234  by the spokes, on which a plurality of blocks for loosing  239  is provided. Dissimilarly to the above embodiment, the helical of the stirrer  234  is of continuous, as the stirrer  234  of two mixing devices  230  are spaced apart instead of overlapping partially, as shown in  FIG. 9 . 
     Specially, the reactor basin  202  also comprises two concave parts  205  having a curved profile. Referring now to  FIG. 10 , in order to match with the stirrer  234  of the mixing device  230 , the space between the curves of the concave parts  205  and the stirrer  234  is of same substantively, for example, the space of the preferred embodiment is about 0.5 cm-2 cm. 
     There is a transition part between the two concave parts  204  at the bottom of the basin  202 , the height of which should be certainly lower than that of the shaft  232 . For example, if the curves of the two concave parts do not overlap, the transition part will be a flat (not shown ). According to the preferred embodiment, the transition part is defined to be a protuberant intersection  206 , by referring to  FIG. 11 . The triangular-shaped area between the two mixing devices are commonly called dead area, in which the sawdust may pile up to form a hardened heap. Hence, the treatment apparatus of the present invention effectively prevents the sawdust from piling up and avoids a hardened trouble by defining the two concave parts  205 . 
     Furthermore, according to the present invention, a support  224  is preferably provided on the bottom of the tank  201  between the two concave parts  205  to strengthen the bottom of tank  201 , as shown in  FIG. 12 . 
     Referring back to  FIG. 7 , the top plate of the tank  201  comprises an opening  209  for feeding the sawdust and removing the converted organic fertilizer, which is covered by a cover  210  when not in use. An air outlet  212  for realizing vacuum within the tank to improve the ventilation and an urine inlet  207  are spaced apart from the drop inlet  204  by a predetermined distance. Of course, the treatment apparatus  200  of the invention should also comprise a conduit  208  located at the top plate of the tank  201 , the shape and length of which depend on the locations of the urinary inlet  207  and the drop inlet  204 , as the inlet  213  of which is communicated with the urinary inlet  207  and the outlet  215  of which is adjacent to the drop inlet  204  or central region of the basin  202 . Preferably, a plurality of dispensing holes  211  are provided at the bottom of the conduit  208  to uniformly dispense urine into the basin  202 , as shown in  FIG. 13 , the diameter of the holes  211  increases gradually as they approach the outlet  215 . 
     Likewise, a temperature control means is also needed and is provided with a plurality of heating plates  222  on the outer side of the basin, as shown in  FIG. 10 , temperature sensors (not shown) in accordance with the present invention may be certainly provided on the heating plates so as to turn on and off the heating plates to maintain the temperature, for example in the range of 50° C.-70° C.; and a insulation layer  221  on the outer side of the heating plates which may fill the whole space between the reactor basin  202  and the tank  210  so as to increase the effect of insulation. Of course, the temperature control means  220  can be also provided within the basin in accordance with the actual application. 
     Preferably, the temperature control means also comprises a holder  226  for maintaining the insulation layer  221 . Preferably, the holder  226  may be at least a bending plate which matches with the curve of the concave parts  205 , as shown in  FIG. 14 , or elastic plate so as to surround the reaction basin  202 , wherein one end of the holder  226  is secured to the support  224  on the bottom of tank  201  and the other end is secured to the tank  201  by a spring hook  227 . In addition, the top plate  203  is connected to the side plate of the tank  201  in removable manner to be convenient for installation, for example, snap fitting. Of course, a heat-insulating element at the juncture between the top plate and the side plate is needed for preventing the heat within the basin  202  from discharging out of the tank  201 , referring to  FIG. 15 . 
     The bio-toilet of the present invention can be easily constructed by using the above treatment apparatus of the invention, which the appearances likes a house. Generally, the floor should be provided in the house for dividing the space into two parts—usage part above the floor and the operation part under the floor. As shown in  FIG. 16 , the inside space of the house is divided into a inner room  302  with door  304  and an operation room  303  with a door  305 . The treatment apparatus  100 / 200  of the present invention is provided under the floor of the inner room  302 . The treatment apparatus  200  is herewith set forth by reference. Thus, an air vent tube in communication with the air outlet  212  on the top plate of the treatment apparatus  200  extends from the operation room  303  to the outside of the house. Preferably, a exhaust fan ( FIG. 7 ) is integrally connected with the air outlet  212  on the top plate for easy maintenances. 
     Also, the rotation shafts of the mixing devices are driven by a driving device  306 . In the preferred embodiment, the driving device  306  is provided on the side plate of the tank  201  by a support  228  ( FIG. 7 ). Furthermore, as shown in  FIGS. 17A and 17B , a holder  229  for holding a control unit (not shown) is provided at a side plate of the tank  201 . 
     In general, under the best controlled state, the organic materials subjects to three stages of reaction, controlled by different microorganisms, that is, there are mesophilic stage, thermophil stage and maturation stage. The initial decomposition is achieved by mesophilic microorganisms which decompose quickly the soluble and degradable mixture and heat produced thus causes the temperature rising quickly. As the temperature is over 40° C., the next process is controlled by thermophilic microorganisms in stead of mesophilic microorganisms. As the temperature rises to 50° C. or above, the microorganisms in the human body or plant are killed. Since when the temperature is over 65° C., a large quantity of microorganisms are killed and the decomposing rate is decreased, the temperature must be maintained at a level lower than 65° C. by means of good ventilation and sufficient mixing of the excrement and sawdust. In the thermophil stage, the high temperature can speed up the decomposition of the mixture of protein, fat, cellulose and hemicellulose and main molecules in plant. As the energy of the thermophilic microorganisms exhausts, the temperature of the compost decreases and the last stage—the maturation stage is controlled again by the mesophilic microorganisms. Hence, the treatment apparatus of the invention meets the above decomposition requirements by providing the temperature control means, ventilation means and setting up the period of rotation for mixing devices. 
     With reference to the flowchart in  FIG. 18 , the treatment method of the invention comprising the following steps. Firstly, at step S 10 , a reactor basin for filling raw materials is provided. Next, at step S 12 , two mixing devices parallel to each other is provided within the basin, each of which includes a rotation shaft and two helical blade stirrer secured to the rotation shaft. Preferably, the helical direction for two part of the stirrer must be disposed oppositely. At step S 14 , a temperature control means is provided for maintaining the temperature within the basin at a predetermined range for decomposing the human waste. In step S 16 , a timer is specially provided for detecting a time interval during which the mixing devices are in still state. Then, there is a step  18  of determining whether the time interval is detected to be equal to a value? If the determination is YES, the mixing devices are driven by a control means to stir the raw material and excrement at step  20 ; if the determination is NO, process goes to the step  16  for detecting the time interval continuously. 
     The purpose of driving the mixing devices is to stir the raw material and the excrement, that is, to cover up the new excrement with sawdust. Hence, the rotation devices rotate an appropriate angle every time and when the rotation devices complete one turn of rotation, the mixing devices rotate in reverse direction under the control of the control unit. 
     With reference to the flowchart in  FIG. 19 , the treatment method according to the invention also includes a step of providing a sensor. That is, in Step  30 , providing a sensor for detecting the rotation angle while being driven. Next, determining if the mixing devices has completed one turn of rotation? If the determination is YES, the process goes to the step S 34  for operating the control unit to drive the mixing devices in reverse direction. And if the determination is NOT, the process goes to the step S 36  for keeping the present state of the control unit so as not to change the rotational direction of the mixing devices. Then, the process returns back to Step S 32 . Preferably, at step S 40 , the invention provides a sensor at the drop inlet or the door of the inner room for detecting if someone has entered the bio-toilet. Next, at step  40 , determining if someone has entered the toilet. If the determination is YES, the control unit outputs a single to drive the mixing device and repeats step S 32 ; if the determination is NOT, process goes to step S 16  as shown in  FIG. 18 . 
     It is obvious that the present invention can also provide a timer for detecting a time interval to be last by user. If the timer interval from the bio-toilet being used is equal to a predetermined value, such as 15 minutes, driving the mixing devices. Certainly, the step of driving the mixing devices when a user going out can be included in accordance with the present invention. 
     According to the above treatment method, the mixing devices complete one turn of rotating when it is driven several times. Furthermore, the temperature within the tank is easily maintained at a range of 50-70° C. by using a temperature control means. With the above treatment apparatus and method, the time period for decomposing the excrement is about 10 hours, the bacteria can be killed from several minutes to 60 minutes under high temperature and the time for producing the organic fertilizer through fermentation is about two days and no offensive odor occurs during the whole decomposition and fermentation process. Therefore, the bio-toilet of the invention can be widely used at scenic places, temporary meeting places, construction sites, railway stations and parks, etc. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the bio-toilet and the treatment method of decomposing excrement of the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.