The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 11, 1990
Filed:
Aug. 12, 1988
Lawrence M Grills, Viejo, CA (US);
Eugene F Colditz, Huntington Beach, CA (US);
Kaiser Aerospace and Electronics Corporation, Foster City, CA (US);
Abstract
A non recirculating, low volume toilet system for aircraft includes a interim storage tank connected to the toilet bowl. A waste drain leads to a gate valve which opens to a vacuum assisted luid gas separator. The separator is connected to the main waste tank. In a first embodiment, the main waste tank is a non pressurizable vessel and is maintained within a pressurized portion of the aircraft. The separator is alternatively connected to the exterior environment and the pressurized interior. When the toilet is utilized, the flushing operation uses a very small amount of flushing fluid to clean the bowl and transfer the contents to the interim tank. Opening the gate valve subjects the bowl and the interim tank to a pressure differential which transfers the flushing liquid and waste matter to the separator. The gate valve is closed and the separator is permitted to reach pressure equilibrium with the main waste tank at which time the contents of the separator are transferred to the main waste tank. A partial vacuum is again drawn in the separator, awaiting the next flush operation. In an alternative embodiment, the main waste tank can be a pressure vessel in the pressurized portion of the aircraft and can be maintained at the exterior pressure. In this embodiment, the separator is then maintained at the same pressure as the main waste tank at all times.