FI123840B

FI123840B - Composting toilet arrangements

Info

Publication number: FI123840B
Application number: FI20125674A
Authority: FI
Inventors: Janne Kanervo; Mikko Maeaettaenen
Original assignee: Kekkilae Oy
Priority date: 2012-06-18
Filing date: 2012-06-18
Publication date: 2013-11-15
Also published as: SE1350742A1; RU2013126299A; NO20130714A1; RU2645202C2; FI20125674A; SE537161C2

Description

COMPOSTING TOILET ARRANGEMENT Technical field

Generally, the invention relates to a composting toilet arrangement. More specifi-5 cally, the invention relates to a surface mountable composting toilet arrangement.

Background technology

Municipal infrastructure, such as sewerage system, is normal and essential in cities and suburban areas, but may be expensive to implement in rural areas. Especially in 10 summer cottages, there is usually no waste water treatment available and other methods have to be used to handle organic waste, such as human excrement.

Prior art knows several different types of solutions for outhouses and composting toilets, but the known solutions comprises disadvantages. Typical outhouses need to be placed separate from a main building, which makes them inconvenient to use. 15 They are also laborious to maintain, because liquids and solid waste are normally collected to a container or a hole in the ground. When this kind of outhouse requires emptying, all collected waste have to be removed in the same time in spite of the decomposition degree of the waste. Emptying process may require a lot of strength, if all waste is collected to the same container. Respectively, a smaller container is 20 lighter to empty, but requires to be emptied more often. In addition, outhouses can be very smelly places and slowly decomposing waste piles provide a good envi-„ ronment to breed bacteria and insects, such as earthworms and flies, which are both 0 unpleasant and cause hygienic issues.

m 9 Composting toilets solves some of the disadvantages of outhouses. Normally, com- ° 25 posting toilets comprise a separating system for separating liquids from solid waste, 1 which diminish odors and may prevent the insects breeding. Unfortunately, the known composting toilet solutions can require significant transformations to build- co ing construction, because of the placing of the toilet's waste container or containers.

^ Openings may be required to provide in a floor or a wall/walls and/or the arrange- o 00 30 ment may require a higher room height than a normal room has. Composting toilets comprising several waste containers can suffer from difficulties to change a container and to remove the composted container and they may require an access to the 2 space comprising the containers outside from the toilet room, which may hinder the installation of the toilet to an interior of a house.

Summary of the invention 5 It is an object of the present invention to implement such a solution, that previously mentioned drawbacks of the prior art could be diminished. In particular, the invention is implied to solve how to arrange a surface mountable composting toilet, which is simple to use and easy to empty.

The objective of the invention is met by the features disclosed in the independent 10 patent claim.

A surface mountable composting toilet arrangement according to the present invention is characterized by the features of claim 1.

According to an embodiment of the invention, a surface mountable composting toilet arrangement comprises a reservoir, a number of containers disposed in the reser-15 voir for collecting and composting organic waste, and a covering part for covering the reservoir and the containers, which covering part comprises a removable seat section, wherein the arrangement further comprises transfer means for alleviating the transfer of the containers in the reservoir.

The transfer means comprises bearing arrangement, such as bearings, which bear-20 ings are integrated into the bottom of the containers, and, yet in another embodiment, a groove structure is provide in the inside bottom of the reservoir for the re-„ spective bearings in the bottom of the containers, δ , In an embodiment, the arrangement comprises liquid separating means for separat- 9 ing liquids from the solid waste. In another embodiment, the liquid separating cm 25 means comprises at least one opening provided in the bottom of the container for I liquids to leak through. This embodiment enables liquids to exit from the container ^ also during composting, which may improve the composting process and may dice minish odors. In another embodiment, the liquid separating means further comprises ^ a separate container for liquids, o

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30 A method for emptying a container of the composting toilet arrangement according to the present invention is characterized by the features of claim 7.

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In one embodiment, the method for emptying container of the composting toilet arrangement according to the present invention comprises steps of removing the seat section from the covering part for revealing an opening in the covering part, transferring the first container right below the opening aside by using the transferring 5 means, which causes the second container next to the first container to be transferred below the opening, lifting the second container up from the reservoir for emptying it, disposing the second container back in the reservoir after it has been emptied, and disposing the seat section back in the covering part.

Some preferable embodiments of the invention are described in the dependent 10 claims.

Significant advantages can be achieved with the present invention when compared to the prior art solutions. The composting toilet arrangement according to the present invention may be easy to mount also inside a house and outhouse. It does not require any changes to structure of the house, i.e. there is no need to provide any 15 holes to the floor or to the walls for the toilet arrangement. It is advantageously made of lightweight and durable material, so it is lightweight while being empty and can be transferred effortlessly to a desired location.

The composting toilet arrangement according to the present invention is easy and simple to use. Containers and a reservoir of the arrangement are formed in such way 20 that the transfer of the container in the reservoir is easy to perform and may not need extra power.

The composting process in the composting toilet arrangement according to the present invention may be performed efficiently. By dividing the total container space to „ several independent parts, different containers can comprise waste in different staged 25 es. Thus, only one container at a time may require to be emptied and the content of lo the container may be fully decomposed, while the other containers are still in use.

o q The containers comprising composting waste can be covered with a suitable cover, 00 which may diminish odor in surroundings.

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In addition, the emptying process may require less time and may be less laborious co 30 to perform, when only one container at a time is emptied. A removed seat section ^ provides an appropriate opening in the covering part, which provides an easy access o ^ for user to transfer the container required to be emptied into a suitable position right under the opening, and to lift it from the reservoir. A reservoir space divided into 4 several containers provides a more lightweight container to lift, which can make the emptying process easier for e.g. older people to perform.

The arrangement according to the present invention does not need any extra openings, because the opening provided in the covering part is used both for mounting 5 the seat section and for emptying a container. Thus, the arrangement does not need any openings provided into a wall, either.

The term "organic waste" refers in this application to any compostable materials, such as excrements, food waste, leaves and garden trimmings.

10 Short description of the drawings

Next, the invention is described in more detail with reference to the appended drawings, in which

Fig. 1 illustrates components of the composting toilet arrangement according to an embodiment of the present invention, 15 Fig. 2 illustrates a cross section view of a composting toilet arrangement according to an embodiment of the present invention,

Fig. 3 illustrates a top view of a composting toilet arrangement according to an embodiment of the present invention,

Fig. 4 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a method for emptying a container 20 according to the present invention.

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9 Detailed description of the embodiments 0

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1 Fig. 1 illustrates components of the composting toilet arrangement according to an embodiment of the present invention and Fig. 2 illustrates a cross section view of a 25 composting toilet arrangement according to an embodiment of the present invents tion. The surface mountable composting toilet arrangement 100 comprises a reser- ° voir 102, a number of containers 104, and a covering part 106 comprising a seat section 108. The arrangement according to the present invention further comprises transfer means for alleviating the transfer of containers 104 in the reservoir 102.

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The components of the composting toilet arrangement according to the present invention are preferably made of some lightweight and durable material, such as, but not limited to, plastics. The person skilled in the art will naturally understand that all or some components can also be made of some other suitable material and, if 5 desired, part of the components can be made of another material than the others.

In one embodiment, the reservoir 102 is formed so that the bottom of the reservoir 102 has a circle-shaped section for the containers 104. Other components, such as a container for liquids, for example, can also be disposed in the reservoir 102. In some embodiment, the reservoir 102 comprises means for venting or e.g. an opena-10 ble opening 110 is provided in the reservoir for external venting means. In some other embodiment, the reservoir comprises e.g. an opening/openings for liquids to flow from the reservoir 102 into some external container.

The containers 104 for collecting and composting organic waste are disposed in the reservoir 102. The total volume of the containers may vary depending on embodi-15 ments, but it is preferably e.g. 60 L - 150 L, more preferably e.g. 90 L - 120 L, most preferably 100 L - 110 L. Advantageously the containers are sector-shaped, so that the containers 104 placed upon the circle-shaped section of the reservoir form together a circle-shaped cylinder in the reservoir. The number of the containers may vary depending on embodiment and total volume of the reservoir, but typically, 20 there are 3-4 containers in the reservoir. The containers disposed in the reservoir may have different volume with each other, but advantageously, the containers have equal volume.

In Fig. 3 is depicted a top view of a composting toilet arrangement according to an embodiment of the present invention. One container is in use at a time. The contain-£2 25 er in use is disposed in such position in the reservoir that the container is right be- ° low the seat section, as can be seen in Fig. 3. The other containers in the reservoir o can comprise composting waste in different decomposing stage in the same time.

o When the container in use is full, the container is transferred in the reservoir so that x other container becomes usable. The other container may have to be emptied from 30 the composted waste, before it is introduced for use. The transferring maneuver is hjj advantageously implemented with a rotating motion. The rotating direction can be ο] clockwise or counterclockwise. For example, in embodiment having the clockwise ^ rotating direction, the container in right side of the container in use can comprise the longest decomposed waste and will be emptied next. In some embodiment, rotating 35 is enabled only for one direction and prevented in the other. This feature may prevent confusions with the containers.

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Furthermore, a covering part 106 is provided for covering the reservoir and the containers in the reservoir. In one embodiment, the covering part 106 is fixedly integrated into the reservoir 102, and in another embodiment, the covering part is removably installed upon the reservoir. The covering part 106 comprises a seat sec-5 tion 108, which is removably attached to the covering part 106. The size of the seat section is selected so that by removing the seat section an adequate opening (106’) is provided in the covering part for transferring containers in the reservoir and/or removing/retuming a container from/into the reservoir in order to emptying it and introducing it for use. In one embodiment, the seat section may comprise means for 10 alleviating the removing it from the covering part, such as a handle/handles.

The composting toilet arrangement according to the present invention further comprises transferring means arranged into the reservoir for alleviating the transfer of the containers in the reservoir. In one embodiment, the transfer means comprises bearings arrangement, which bearings arrangement comprises bearings 112 inte-15 grated into the bottom of the containers for enabling the movement of the containers in the reservoir (depicted in Figs 1 and 2). The number of the bearings 112 in the bottom of a reservoir may vary, but preferably there are e.g. 4-9 bearings, more preferably e.g. 6-7 bearings in the bottom of one container. Preferably, the bearings are placed in the bottom of the container so that they are evenly distributed. In such 20 way, the weight of the container is evenly distributed to the bearings as well, and the movement of the container in the reservoir can be smoother. The bearings can be disposed in several rows in such way that the outermost arc of the sector-shaped bottom of a container has the most of the bearings and the innermost arc has the least of the bearings.

25 In another embodiment, a groove structure 114 is provided in the inside bottom of

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ς the reservoir 102 for guiding the respective bearings 112 in the bottom of the con- ^ tainer 104. Yet, in another embodiment, a groove structure is provided also in the 9 bottom of the containers 104. The reservoir as well as containers forming a circle ° together can have groove structures in several circles. The purpose of the groove I 30 structures is to guide the movement of the containers in the reservoir and to allevi- ate the transfer of the containers. The bearing can be arranged in the bottom of a co groove 116, when observing the container upside down, as depicted in Fig. 1. In ^ that case, the bearings will be placed at a peak section between two grooves, o

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Preferably, the movement of the containers in the reservoir is a rotating movement 35 in a circle. As the containers form a circle together, the groove structures in the bottom of the reservoir and in the bottom of the containers form circles as well. So, 7 when a container is transferred in the reservoir, it is rotating in a circle pushing the next container forward in a circle.

In another embodiment, the transferring means comprises a disc in the bottom of the reservoir upon which the containers are disposed. Preferably, the disc comprises 5 rolling means, such as bearings, rollers, etc, in the bottom so as to enable the rotation of the vertical axis of the disc as well as the containers on the disc.

In one embodiment, the composting toilet arrangement according to the present invention further comprises means for transferring containers in the reservoir, such as, but not limited to, a motor, a cogwheel and a crank connected to it, a handle to 10 name a few. The container can also comprise a handle for lifting and for alleviating the transferring it in the reservoir.

Yet, in one embodiment, the composting toilet arrangement further comprises liquid separating means for separating liquids from the solid waste. The person skilled in the art will understand that the liquid separating means can be arranged in several 15 different manners. In one embodiment, the container comprises at least one opening for enabling liquid to flow from the container. The opening can be provided in the bottom of the container and/or in a side of the container. In the latter case, the opening is advantageously arranged in so low level that the container cannot restrain significant amount of liquid in the container, but the excess liquid undoubtedly exit 20 from the container.

The reservoir may comprise an extra container for liquids or an access for the liquids to pass into the liquids container is arranged in the reservoir. The groove section^) provided in the bottom of the reservoir may be arranged for liquids channel „ and the groove section(s) may comprise opening(s) for liquid to pass into the liquid o 25 container.

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9 In one embodiment, the container comprises an extra lid for covering the container ° during the composting phase. Naturally, the lid is removed, when the container is ir introduced for use.

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^ In Fig. 4 is depicted a flow chart of an embodiment of a method for emptying a con- (n 30 tainer 400 according to the present invention. In step 402, the seat section is re- ° moved from the covering part for revealing an opening in the covering part. In step, 404, the first container right below the opening (106’) is transferred aside by using the transferring means, which causes the second container next to the first container to be transferred below the opening (106’). As described above, it does not matter if δ the rotating direction is clockwise or counterclockwise, but it should be always the same direction. This ensures that the container, which replaces the container transferred aside, comprises the longest time composted waste, which, thus, can be fully decomposed waste.

5 In step 406, the second container is lifted up from the reservoir for emptying it. The container can comprise means for alleviating the lifting it, e.g. earpiece, which can be moved aside, when the container is disposed in the reservoir. In step 408, after the second container is emptied, it is disposed back in the reservoir via the opening. Finally, in step 410, the seat section is disposed back in the covering part and the 10 composting toilet arrangement is ready to use again.

The scope of the invention is determined by the attached claims together with the equivalents thereof. The skilled persons will again appreciate the fact that the explicitly disclosed embodiments were constructed for illustrative purposes only, and the scope will cover further embodiments, embodiment combinations and equiva-15 lents that better suit each particular use case of the invention.

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Claims

1. Pinnasta asennettava kompostoiva käymäläjärjestely (100) käsittäen: - säiliön (102), 5. joukon säiliöön (102) sijoitettuja astioita (104) orgaanisen jätteen keräystä ja kompostointia varten, - päällysosan (106), jolla peitetään säiliö (102) ja astiat (104), joka päällysosa (106) käsittää irrotettavan istuinosan (108), 10 missä järjestely käsittää lisäksi siirtovälineen, jolla helpotetaan astioiden (104) siirtämistä säiliössä (102), tunnettu siitä, että siirtoväline käsittää tukikokoonpanon, missä tukikokoonpanoon kuuluu astioiden (104) pohjaan integroidut laakerit (112), jotka sallivat astioiden (104) liikkeen säiliössä (102). 15A surface mounted composting toilet arrangement (100) comprising: - a container (102), a plurality of containers (104) disposed within the container (102) for collecting and composting organic waste, - a cover (106) for covering the container (102) and containers. (104), the upper portion (106) comprising a removable seat portion (108), wherein the arrangement further comprises a transfer means for facilitating the transfer of containers (104) within the container (102), characterized in that the transfer means comprises a support assembly bottom-integrated bearings (112) that allow the vessels (104) to move within the container (102). 15

2. Patenttivaatimuksen 1 mukainen, pinnasta asennettava kompostoiva käymäläjärjestely (100), jossa tukikokoonpanoon kuuluu lisäksi urarakenne (114), joka on tuotettu säiliön (102) sisäpohjaan astioiden (104) pohjassa olevien vastaavien laakerien (112) ohjaamiseksi. 20A surface-mounted composting toilet assembly (100) according to claim 1, wherein the support assembly further comprises a groove structure (114) provided on the inside of the container (102) for guiding respective bearings (112) on the bottom of the containers (104). 20

3. Jonkin edellisen patenttivaatimuksen mukainen, pinnasta asennettava kompos toiva käymäläjärjestely (100), jossa järjestelyyn kuuluvat astiat (104) muodostaen vat yhdessä säiliöön (102) sijoitettuina kehänmuotoisen sylinterin. δ CVJ g 25A surface-mounted composting toilet assembly (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the receptacles (104) included in the arrangement together form a circular cylinder disposed within the container (102). δ CVJ g 25

4. Jonkin edellisen patenttivaatimuksen mukainen, pinnasta asennettava kompos- ό toiva käymäläjärjestely (100), jossa järjestely käsittää nesteenerotteluvälineen, CVJ jolla erotetaan nesteet kiinteästä jätteestä. CC CLA surface-mounted composting toilet arrangement (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the arrangement comprises a liquid separation means CVJ for separating liquids from solid waste. CC CL

^ 5. Patenttivaatimuksen 4 mukainen, pinnasta asennettava kompostoiva käymäläjär- g 30 jestely (100), jossa nesteenerotteluväline käsittää vähintään yhden astiaan tuote- o tun aukon, joka sallii nesteen poistumisen astiasta (104). 12A surface-mountable composting toilet arrangement (100) according to claim 4, wherein the liquid separation means comprises at least one opening provided in the container allowing the liquid to drain from the container (104). 12

6. Jonkin patenttivaatimuksista 4-5 mukainen, pinnasta asennettava kompostoiva käymäläjärjestely (100), jossa nesteenerotteluväline käsittää lisäksi erillisen astian nesteitä varten.A surface mounted composting toilet assembly (100) according to any one of claims 4 to 5, wherein the liquid separation means further comprises a separate vessel for liquids.

7. Menetelmä jonkin patenttivaatimuksista 1-6 mukaisen, kompostoivan käymä- läjärjestelyn (100) astian (104) tyhjentämiseksi käsittäen ainakin seuraavat vaiheet: - istuinosan (108) irrottaminen päällysosasta (106) aukon (106’) paljastamiseksi 10 päällysosaan (106), - suoraan aukon (106’) alapuolella sijaitsevan ensimmäisen astian (104) siirtäminen sivuun käyttäen tukikokoonpanot käsittävää siirtovälinettä, mikä aiheuttaa ensimmäisen astian (104) vieressä olevan toisen astian (104) siirtymisen aukon (106’) alapuolelle, 15. toisen astian (104) nostaminen sen tyhjentämistä varten ylös säiliöstä (102), - toisen astian (104) sijoittaminen tyhjennyksen jälkeen takaisin säiliöön (102), - istuinosan (108) sijoittaminen takaisin päällysosaan (106). 20 CO δ c\j m o i o C\J X IX Q. N- co m C\J δ C\JA method for emptying a container (104) of a composting toilet arrangement (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, comprising at least the steps of: - detaching the seat (108) from the top (106) to expose the opening (106 ') to the top (106); moving aside the first container (104) directly below the opening (106 ') using a transfer means comprising support assemblies causing the second container (104) adjacent the first container (104) to move below the opening (106'), 15. raising the second container (104) for emptying it up from the container (102), - returning the second container (104) after emptying back to the container (102), - returning the seat portion (108) to the top portion (106). 20 CO δ c \ j m o i o C \ J X IX Q. N- co m C \ J δ C \ J