Abstract:
A self-contained toilet that has no water consumption and does not use chemicals. A toilet bowl cleaned by combining compressed air and liquid through jets to reduce flush volume. The flush liquid supply reclaimed through distillation. The dehydration chamber cleaned by scraping and blowing of the waste. The dehydration process coming from a highly efficient heat, air and grinding chamber. The air compressor pressurizing the tank to clean the bowl and/or empty and dehydrate the chamber contents. The compressor intake used to eliminate odors from the bowl and vent the humidity from the dehydration process. The dehydration process controlled through temperature sensors that detect relative humidity. A toilet wherein it will operate while being used, flush within two minutes and the dehydration process able to be interrupted repeatedly with other deposits of human waste then resume operation until fully dehydrated.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 09/305,159, filed on May 4, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,101,638. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to toilets for disposing of human waste, and particularly to a toilet for human beings that is self contained in a small standard toilet size. The invention recycles liquid for flushing through distillation and eliminates liquid and solid waste through dehydration, evaporation, aeration and grinding, resulting in a dry sanitized disposable waste powder product. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     The use of toilets is almost universal in today&#39;s society. Conventional toilets use anywhere from one to seven gallons of water each time the toilet is flushed, at least in most industrialized countries. The waste of water continues whether the human waste is liquid or solid. The net effect is a tremendous consumption of water throughout the United States and other industrialized countries. 
     Other environments are such that disposing of human waste in lakes and oceans and canals is in some cases prohibited and in other cases certainly undesirable as a way of eliminating human waste. This particular problem is evident in the boating industry with the direct dumping of human waste overboard into the surrounding waters. Thus, there exists in conventional toilet use and in certain environmental impact uses, the need for a toilet for disposing of human waste that does not consume water and that does not result in disposing of raw sewerage or raw human waste into the surrounding environment. 
     Other forms of disposing of sewerage and human waste include the use of septic tanks which are common in many parts of the United States and which often results in an increased bacterial count of surrounding water supplies, especially during heavy rains and the like. Although many areas are trying to rid themselves of septic tanks, they are still quite common. 
     Another problem is that chemical toilets utilize very toxic chemicals such as hydrochloric acid or chlorine, which are poured into a holding tank for purification purposes. Often the material can be ground up and treated with very undesirable toxic chemicals that can be harmful to the environment when the entire matter is released. 
     The present invention solves the problem by providing a toilet that dehydrates, sanitizes and reduces human waste to a safely disposable powder or ash that can be returned to the soil. 
     Many patents have been issued in which the drying of human waste occurs. Composting toilets such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,364,130 issued Dec. 21, 1982, to Persson are basically boxes with an agitation and aeration apparatus. They reduce the waste by removing the water content through natural ventilation means. This method deposits new waste on top of old, like an outhouse, without eliminating the odor and with very slow and undependable drying. This is undesirable in most cases. 
     Incineration toilets reduce the water content in human waste through heat as in baking. They also deposit new waste on top of old to deliver clumps of dried waste material. Alternative heat sources have also been used including heat from the tail pipe of an engine to remove wastewater content as in U.S. Pat. No 3,936,888 issued Feb. 10, 1976, to Sturtevant. Here, grinding, pumping and metering delivers a steady flow of waste to a tailpipe for vaporization and the blowing of the waste powder into the air. This method is not desired or allowed in most regions. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,999,930 issued Mar. 19, 1991 to Kishi, et al., shows a device for drying raw sewerage. The device employees a plurality of heat balls which are paddled around and which allow for some dehydration of sewerage. The system here requires a fairly inefficient array of chemical elements, which attempt to dehydrate the waste materials. 
     U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,152,074, 5,230,164, and 5,564,133 all issued to Kishi continue the drying theory but fail to perform the operation in a small standard size unit. They also fail to explain how the toilet-bowl and intake pipes are flushed clean. They fail to answer many other practical operation problems that are solved within the present invention. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,218,724 issued Jun. 15, 1993 to Blankenship, shows an incinerator toilet with a removal catalyst container. One of the drawbacks of this device is that it uses catalyst pellets for reducing odor, which are inserted and removed for replacement. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,276,924 issued to Hachima, on Jan. 11, 1994, shows a method and apparatus for disposing of body waste that includes inductive heating. 
     The present invention overcomes the problems of the prior art by providing a compact, clean flushing and extremely efficient toilet. It uses a small amount of electrical energy for dehydration and an efficient grinder for producing a dry powder-like substance that is bagged and return to the environment without water consumption. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A toilet for disposing of human waste safely and sanitarily without chemicals or water consumption. The toilet utilizes compressed air and recycled liquids for toilet bowl cleaning. It is necessary to use both air and liquid for flushing because less force and too much liquid is used in a liquid-only system. With an air-only system, the toilet bowl cannot be cleaned. 
     A compressor is used to pressurize a tank. The tank air pressure is used to drive an air motor that grinds the waste and scrapes the dehydration chamber clean. The compressor&#39;s air intake comes from the top inside of the toilet bowl, drawing out any odors from within the bowl. The compressor then blows this air through the dehydration chamber, aerating and dehydrating the waste material before venting to the outside. 
     The air intake from the toilet bowl not only deodorizes the bowl while in use but also delivers warm air for dehydration rather than the cold outside air used by some others. Further, the air in this invention is moving at a rate of 2-3 CFM. This slow air flow rate reduces the heat required by other blower fan units that heat and move over 20 CFM. 
     Compressed air is used for blowing the dry waste into the waste bag and a passive vent chamber is utilized for deodorizing. There is a heating element and a motor underneath the dehydration chamber. Blades are located inside the chamber to grind the material and scrap clean the inside surface of the chamber as air passes slowly through. The resultant powdered waste contents are stored in a bag or container until discarded. At least three sizes are planned; a standard full size toilet, a small compact toilet, and a remote base with a dehydration toilet seat. They will be available in 12 VDC, 120 VAC and 220 VAC electric. 
     The first improvement includes jet nozzles around and underneath the toilet seat and against the toilet bowl wall. These jets are facing downwards and release a mixture of liquid and air from a pressure tank for cleaning the toilet bowl walls and forcing the waste into the dehydration chamber through the sliding gate valve at the base of the toilet bowl. 
     The dehydration chamber includes a three-inch slide gate valve located at the top of the chamber (bottom of the bowl) for waste entry. A one and a half-inch slide gate valve is also located on the bottom/side of the chamber for a waste exit. A three-quarter-inch open port on the topside of the chamber vents the steam and odors from the dehydration chamber through the deodorization chamber. There is also a quarter inch open port on the center/side for receiving vent air and air pressure to blow the waste powder into the bagged containment area. 
     The dehydration chamber&#39;s sliding valves are in the closed position when in use. The closed valves allow the dehydration process to be performed from a previous patron while providing an empty clean bowl for use by another patron. 
     The dehydration chamber also includes a domed heat plate. An electric coil is used to heat the heat plate. An air motor is used to grind the waste and scrape the bottom and sides of the chamber. It is necessary to grind and cut the waste into powder for the waste bag. It is also necessary to scrape the chamber clean so that an insulation layer does not build up reducing efficiency. Exhaust from the air motor goes to the dehydration chamber to assist in ventilation and movement of dried waste into the waste bag at the end of the cycle. The Kishi patent uses balls that will not cut and shred the material nor clean and scrape the insides of a chamber nor assist in ventilation. 
     This liquid is reclaimed through a copper coil, distilled from the steam created in the dehydration process. This distilled liquid is held in a reservoir that fills the flush chamber underneath. The flush chamber is pressurized with air to clean the toilet bowl. When the reservoir is full the excess water with steam and gas exit through the vent pipe. Under the reservoir is a flush chamber which holds one cup of liquid. When it is full, a ball floats to the top closing off the reservoir. When air pressure is sent to the flush chamber the float ball remains at the top closing off the reservoir while the water and air inside the chamber is mixed and sent to the bowl jets, flushing the toilet. When the flush cycle ends, the air pressure stops, making the float ball fall to the bottom of the chamber to allow liquid from the reservoir to enter until full and the ball is on top again. 
     There are two temperature sensors in the toilet. One sensor is in the heater controlling its temperature between 250 and 3000 degrees F. The other sensor is in the vent pipe detecting the difference between high steam heat over  212  degrees F and low dry heat under 200 degrees F. When the heat is high the dehydration process continues but when the temperature drops below 200 degrees there is no steam, this ends the dehydration process and blows the waste powder into the holding bag or container. Detecting the relative humidity through the temperature of the steam to regulate the toilet cycle will allow the unit to know when to end the heating process. It does not have to be programmed to run one hour like many others, when only five minutes may be needed for dehydrating a small deposit or may run up to an hour with large or multiple deposits. 
     The toilet can be used immediately after flushing and ready for another flush when the tank is pressurized within two minutes. 
     When a person has completed use of the toilet, the operation button is pushed. This opens the bowl valve and releases compressed air to the flush chamber sending liquid and air to clean the bowl. Sitting on the toilet seat will also start the compressor to draw odor from the toilet bowl while in use. The compressor will also be on during the dehydration process to aerate the dehydration and assist in venting. The compressor is only off when the tank is full, the dehydration process is complete, the dehydration chamber is empty and there is no one sitting on the seat. 
     There are three indicator lights. The green flush button light indicates that the tank is pressurized and ready to flushing. The yellow light indicates that the waste bag is heavy and it is time to change the waste bag. The red light indicates a fault in the toilets operation. If the red button pushed, it will open the bowl valve and shut down the unit for five minutes. 
     The dehydration chamber can hold multiple deposits on top of each other, at any time, even though the dehydration process is not completed and the waste is not dry enough for bagging. The vent temperature sensor will control the appropriate time needed for the dehydration process. 
     In accordance with these and other objects which will become apparent hereinafter, the instant invention will now be described with particular reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 shows an exploded, side perspective view of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 shows a side elevation view showing the present invention with the toilet lid open 
     FIG. 3 shows a side view with waste bag door with weight sensor. 
     FIG. 4 shows the deodorization balls with back flow check valves and vent pipes. 
     FIG. 5 shows the dehydration chamber with the grinding and scraping blade configuration and heating element. 
     FIG. 6 shows the distillation coil with the air/water flush system, reservoir, foot valve and tank. 
     FIG. 7 shows the seat sensor with compressor intake and muffler. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring now to the drawings and in particular FIG. 1, the exploded view of the present invention is shown generally comprising a toilet cabinet  20  made out of a plastic material with a bottom part  21  made from the same material. The toilet cabinet bottom part has a waste chamber  22 A also of the same material. On the side of cabinet  20  is a waste door  22 B to access waste chamber  22 A. On the floor of the waste chamber there is foam rubber or springs  24 B that are set with the appropriate tension depending on bag and chamber size as to cause a floor plate  22 C to close normally open contact switch  24 A and turn the bag full light  51  on when full. 
     A toilet lid  1  and a seat  2  are on top of cabinet  20 . Preferably, the seat  2  and cabinet  20  is the approximate size of a conventional water toilet. Underneath seat  2  is foam rubber or springs  3 B which when compressed close a contact switch  3 A activating compressor  43  to deodorize the toilet bowl  6  when in use. 
     Underneath seat  2  and inside the cabinet  20  is bowl  6 . Bowl  6  has a compressor intake  4 A located at the top rear of bowl  6 . It is connected to a compressor muffler  4 B then to compressor  43 . Bowl  6  also has a number of cleaning jet nozzles  5 , depending on bowl size. They are connected to valve  44  which releases pressure from an air tank  26  in order to clean bowl  6  with a combination of liquid and air mixed from the flush chamber  28 . Flush chamber  28  is closed off from the reservoir by float ball  29 . Bowl  6  has an opening  34  at its bottom, with a three-inch sliding bowl valve  7 A operated by an actuator  7 B. 
     Chamber  8  for dehydration has four ports. The toilet bowl  6  and the dehydration chamber  8  can be separated from the rest of the apparatus and placed in a remote location. One is a bowl port  9  which is connected to valve  7 A. The second is air port  10  which is a ¼ inch side port receiving air from the compressor through three way valve  46  or clean valve  45 . The third port is vent port  11  which is connected to a steam and gas vent pipe  25 A and distilled through pipe  36  or vented outside through a vent port  42 . The fourth port is a waste port  12  which is opened by waste valve  13 A operated by actuator  13 B connected to a waste bag  23 . The air blowing into waste bag  23  exits through vent pipe  25 B past valve  37  to outside port  42 . Inside chamber  8  are cutting blades  15  and scraping blades  14  which are connected to drive motor  18  by drive shaft  18 A contained in motor case  19 . In the preferred embodiment, the drive motor operates at approximately 0.5 kW; however, for some applications, more energy may be used. The heater coil  17  has a heater sensor  16  to control the temperature of the dehydration chamber. 
     Tank  26  has two ports. The first port  27  is an air pressure intake from compressor  43  through three-way valve  46 . The second port is an exit port  30  to be used by valve  44 . Three way valve  46  allows compressor  43  to blow through the valve to the dehydration chamber  8  or when energized and closed allowing compressor  43  to fill and pressurize tank  26 . 
     Other components include the deodorization pipe  40  which is connected to vent  42 . Pipe  40  contains deodorization balls  39  and cap  41 . Back flow check valve  38  prevents gasses from flowing into the unit and the normally closed spring switch sensor  39 B (FIG. 4) operates an indicator light when it is time to add deodorization balls. Deodorization balls may be made from quick lime, chlorine, camphor or other material used in urinals and like materials. 
     A liquid reservoir  32  is connected at its top to pipe  36  and at its bottom to flush chamber  28 . Liquid, such as water including that reclaimed by the apparatus, is received by chamber  28  from reservoir  32 . Antifreeze may also be used either alone or in addition to said liquid to prevent freezing and aid in distillation reclamation. 
     The controlling electronics come from a relay board  48 , microprocessor board  49  and buttons  50  and  52 . Start button  50  starts the flush cycle when the green ready light indicates a full tank for flushing. A delay will occur when the flush button is pushed if the tank is not full. Yellow indicator light  51  indicates that the waste bag is full. When emergency off button  52  is pushed, the unit will shut down, the bowl valve will open and the light will be red indicating that trouble exists. An optional light would indicate time to add deodorization balls. 
     The method of operating the toilet of the present invention is as follows. Open bowl valve  7 A. Open bowl cleaning air and liquid valve  44 . Close valve  44  and valve  7 A. Activate heater coil  17  regulated by heater sensor  16 . Activate compressor  43  and valve  46  to fill tank  26  with liquid such as water. Start button light  50  is on when tank  26  is full. De-activate valve  46  for compressor  43  to circulate air through port  10  into chamber  8 . Drive motor  18  will turn blades  15  to operate for one second per minute. When vent sensor  33  reads that the temperature is low, motor  18  and heater  17  are shut off, then waste valve  13 A opens and motor  18  comes on for five seconds scraping and blowing the dried waste through chamber port  10  into bag  23  thereby emptying the chamber  8 . Waste valve  13 A is then closed and three-way valve  46  is activated to re-fill the tank  26  with reclaimed liquid such as water, completing the cycle. 
     Referring now to FIG. 2, the side view of the present invention is shown generally comprising the components referred to in FIG.  1 . FIG. 2 depicts these components placed in their respective locations. 
     Referring now to FIG. 3, the waste chamber of the present invention is shown generally comprising of waste chamber  22 A being approximately 3″×6″×6″ and has a waste powder intake from port  12  from chamber  8 . The waste chamber is closed off by door  22 B. The waste chamber also has a floor plate  22 C. Preferably, underneath floor plate  22 C is a foam rubber pad or springs  24 B surrounding a normally open contact switch  24 A. The springs or foam is compressed when bag  23  is full; this closes the contact switch  24 A turning on bag full light  51 . 
     In an alternate embodiment, a container instead of a bag could be used and emptied or an attachment for a vacuum cleaner could suck the waste out of the bowl as with multiple units to a central vacuum and holding container. 
     Referring now to FIG. 4, the deodorization and ventilation system of the present invention is shown generally comprising vent pipes  25 A and  25 B, each having a ¾ inch diameter. This diameter is used because larger pipes make the temperature sensor readings slow and smaller pipes restrict the steam and airflow for proper operation. The pipes can be made of copper, aluminum, steel or high temperature plastic. The temperature of the pipes could reach over 200 degrees directly out of dehydration chamber  8 . When the reservoir liquid level is high, the steam and distilled water surplus exit through vent pipe  25 A to outside port  42 . Waste chamber  22 A uses vent pipes  25 B to exit air from dehydration waste port  12 . Valve  38  (not shown) opens to vent outside and closes to prevent back flow of gases. The same is true for check valve  37  preventing steam and gasses from vent pipe  25 A to enter waste chamber  22 A. 
     Located in deodorization pipe  40  are the deodorizing balls  39  entering pipe  40  through the back of the toilet with cap  41 . There is a screen that the balls rest on. The steam and air pass by balls  39  and out through vent  40 . When the steam and air dissolve balls  39  in pipe  40 , another ball in pipe  40  takes its place. When there are no balls left, sensor switch  39 B detects this and turns on a warning light. 
     Referring now to FIG. 5, the dehydration chamber of the present invention is shown generally comprising a dehydration chamber  8  and electric motor casing  19 . Nuts and long bolts  8 B connect chamber  8  to top  8 C and motor casing  19 . Inside is drive motor  18  and drive shaft  18 A. On top of the motor are two thin insulation boards  17 A and  17 B. Board  17 A is on the top and board  17 B is on the bottom of heater coil  17 . The insulation protects coil  17  from grounding out on motor casing  19  and chamber  8 . The insulation also reduces heat transfer to motor  18 . 
     Inside chamber  8  are cutting blades  15  and scraping blades  14 . The cutting and scraping unit consists of two side scraper blades  14 A attached to mounting cross bar  14 B. Angled down and off cross bar  14 B are bottom scraper blades  14 C which act like snow plows lifting material from the hot chamber floor and throwing it over and past cutting blades  15 . Cutting blades  15  are sharpened metal channels attached to bar  14 B by a rivet in the center of the channel that the channel spins on, cutting the material as it passes by. A domed nut  14 D connects the unit to motor  18  by threading on to drive shaft  18 A. 
     Referring now to FIG. 6, the distillation system of the present invention is shown generally comprising an air tank  26  and a liquid reservoir  32  that connects to the distillation pipe  36 . The distillation pipe  36  is preferably one or more cooling coils used in the distillation process. Preferably, the dehydration process uses the cooling coils to distill steam and reclaim water for flushing. Vent pipe  25 B passes steam by vent sensor  33  to sense when the heater should start and finish. Under reservoir  32  is flush chamber  28 . Chamber  28  receives liquid from reservoir  32 , when full float ball  29  raises to the top. When air pressure from tank  26  enters through valve  44 , float ball  29  is pressed closed against the opening of the reservoir and the air and liquid is then mixed with the pressure sent to jets  5  to increase cleaning force used to clean the toilet bowl. 
     Referring now to FIG. 7, the bowl deodorization system of the present invention is shown generally comprising a toilet seat  2  and lid  1  on top of cabinet  20  with contact switch  3 A and compressor  43  inside. Thus, in the preferred embodiment, the toilet is self-contained and the same size as most water toilets. You will notice that there are two foam rubber pads or springs  3 B attached to the seat, contact switch  3 A comes up from cabinet so as to come in contact with the seat  2 . When the seat has weight applied to it, it is compressed and switch  3 A closes turning compressor  43  on so that air from bowl  6  is drawn in to compressor intake  4 A through muffler  4 B and exits through the dehydration chamber  8  to the outside vent  42 . 
     The instant invention has been shown and described herein in what is considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment. It is recognized, however, that departures may be made there from within the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.