Fluidmaster, Inc.

Flapperless, Inc.

Ahed Research and Development Inc.

International Water Saver Toilets, Inc.

Arnold Hennessy

John D Inch

Myron Joseph Ament

Philip Hennessy

A dump bucket toilet that enables the construction of a toilet that has a low profile and that avoids splashing of water. A barrier ( ) lies over much of the first side portion of the bucket to prevent the very rapid discharge of water from the bucket into the surrounding tank when the bucket is tipped, but to instead allow water to be discharged through an opening ( ) of moderate size. This avoids splashing and keeps the bucket in it dump position for a few seconds to avoid the bucket scooping up water at the bottom of the tank. A return wall ( ) at the bottom of the middle of the tank retains water at a second side portion of the tipped bucket to urge the bucket to tilt back to the filled position.

Dump bucket toilet with controlled discharge and return

A water saver toilet is provided, of the type that applies a vacuum to the toilet bowl outlet to assist flushing, which effectively uses the vacuum and which can be of low height. The toilet bowl outlet includes upper and lower trap devices (44, 50 in FIG. 2) connected by a trapway (46), with a vacuum source applied to the trapway during a flushing to pull out water and debris from the toilet bowl. One vacuum source (FIG. 3) includes a largely horizontal diaphragm (76) which separates a water chamber (82) from a vacuum chamber (80). The water chamber is initially filled with water, which is rapidly emptied during flushing, causing the diaphragm to rapidly fall from an upwardly bowed configuration (76) to a downwardly bowed configuration (76A). The vertically moving diaphragm produces a vacuum in the vacuum chamber that is connected to the trapway. A spring (84) (or weight) allows the water chamber to deliver water at a considerable pressure, regardless of the level of the water chamber with respect to the toilet bowl. Another vacuum source (FIG. 7) includes a water powered actuator (158) that receives water from a pressured water pipe at the beginning of flushing, to rapidly raise a vacuum diaphragm (170) that produces a vacuum in a vacuum chamber (172) which is connected to the trapway.

Enhanced operation toilet

A vacuum assisted toilet is described, of the type wherein the toilet bowl outlet has a lower trap that is open to the passage of air therethrough except during each flushing when a vacuum is applied, which uses the vacuum more effectively. A vacuum source (46, FIG. 3) includes a first container portion (107) that holds water between flushings, with the water released during a flushing and creating a vacuum in a second portion (106) of the container that is coupled through a vacuum conduit (48) to the toilet bowl outlet. Instead of constantly coupling the second portion of the container to the bowl outlet, the second portion of the container is allowed to progressively expand but remain substantially unconnected to the bowl outlet until a predetermined amount of expansion (to 108) when the second portion is suddenly connected through the vacuum conduit (48) to the bowl outlet. As a result, the vacuum created during early expansion of the second container portion does not tend to lessen the lower trap and the vacuum is not wasted to the drain, but is applied only after the lower trap is sealed.

Vacuum assisted toilet with controlled vacuum

A water source (12, FIG. 1) is provided for mounting on a toilet housing (32) rearward of the toilet bowl (18), which has a small rearward-to-forward depth (D) and low height (H), and which enables close control of the flow of water and any vacuum to the toilet bowl and its outlet. The source includes a frame (40) for mounting on the rearward portion of the toilet housing, the frame having two wide holes (50, 52) and a diaphragm device (54, 56) extending across each hole to separate water regions (60, 62) from air regions (64, 66) that lie on opposite sides of the diaphragm. The holes and diaphragms form two horizontally spaced water supply units 42, 44 that lie on opposite sides of the toilet bowl outlet 24 to efficiently use space. A spring or weight biases each diaphragm to compress the water region. The two water regions are connected together and to a flush valve (14) for supplying water to the toilet bowl. Where a vacuum assisted toilet is used, at least one of the air region is connected to the toilet bowl outlet (24) to apply a vacuum thereto when water flows out of the water regions.

Toilet water source

A vacuum assisted toilet wherein a vacuum is applied between upper and lower traps (40,44 in FIG. 2) of a toilet bowl outlet during a flushing, wherein the lower trap is constructed to more reliably assure that an air passage (64) above a pool of water (52) of the lower trap will quickly close near the beginning of a flushing and will remain open between flushings. The lower trap has a lower wall (50) that holds a pool of water (52) with a pool top (62) of predetermined height (A) between flushings, and has an upper wall (60) spaced above the pool top to form an air passage. The upper wall forms a narrow but tall vent (100, FIG. 4) of the air passage, which assures that the air passage will always be open between flushings, and with the narrow but tall vent being quickly closed by water rapidly flowing therethrough at the beginning of a flushing.

Vacuum assist toilet trap

A water saver toilet is provided, of the type that applies a vacuum to the toilet bowl outlet to assist flushing, which effectively uses the vacuum. The toilet bowl outlet includes upper and lower trap devices (44, 50 in FIG. 2) connected by a trapway (46), with the lower trap device being initially unobstructed. At the beginning of flushing, the initial water flow causes obstruction of the lower trap device to air flow, and a vacuum is then applied to the trapway to pull out water and debris from the toilet bowl. One toilet (FIG. 5) is of the urinal type, and includes a container (214) lying within a water tank, with the lower end (218) of the container opening to the water tank, and with the upper end (219) of the container connected by a vertical vacuum pipe (221) to the trapway.

Water saver toilet

A vacuum assisted toilet is described wherein a vacuum is applied to a toilet bowl outlet during flushing, which avoids malfunctions that could allow sewer gas to escape, and which uses flushing water effectively. The toilet bowl outlet includes upper and lower trap devices (40,44, FIG. 5) coupled by a trapway (42), with the lower trap device forming an unobstructed air passage when no water is moving therethrough but which includes a trapping region (64) that completely fills with water and forms an airflow barrier during flushing. The vacuum source includes a container (72, FIG. 1) in the toilet tank, with the container fixed in place in the tank to lie stationary therein, and with an ordinary flush valve (23) lying outside the container, so substantially the only part of the toilet that moves during flushing is the long developed and reliable flush valve. A baffle (110) separates a first tank portion (114) which holds the container and flush valve, from a second tank portion (116) which holds an inlet valve. The top (118) of the baffle lies a plurality of centimeters below the high water level (16), so that a lot of water passes into the toilet bowl at the beginning of flushing.

Vacuum assisted toilet

A diaphragm valve for a toilet flushing mechanism, and a hydraulic flushing assembly using the valve, control water mains pressure for the pressure flushing of toilets with small quantities of water. Water mains pressure is used to retain a flexible diaphragm against the orifice through which flushing water from a pressurized tank can flow through the valve when flushing action is desired; flushing is initiated by temporarily lowering the water pressure applied to retain the diaphragm. Various designs of pressurized tank can be used to provide a constant or variable volume flush, which can be less than six quarts or liters.

Growing community of inventors

Wellington, Canada

Arnold Hennessy