Collecting device for solid or liquid waste material
United States Patent Eriksson COLLECTING DEVICE FOR SOLID OR LIQUID WASTE MATERIAL [76] Inventor: Eleon Gustav Eriksson, Brobacka,  
 S-570 60 Osterbymo, Sweden [22] Filed: Sept. 21, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 399,667  
 [52] U.S.Cl. ..4/142;4/l1l;4/12l; 4/135 [51] Int. Cl ..-A47k 11/02 [58] Field of Search 4/1, 10, 141, 78,142, 4/138, 111, 143,121,115, 116,131,128  
 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,671,906 3/1954 Potts 4/142 X 3,401,409 9/1968 Ekrut 3,416,164 12/1968 Ekrut 3,452,368 7/1969 Couper 4/142 3,619,822 11/1971 Carmichael 4/142 3,648,302 3/1972 Winters 4/142 3,693,193 9/1972 May 4/142 3,723,999 4/1973 Miller 4/142 3,772,711 1l/1973 Spector.... 4/78 Rl1,410 3/1894 Murphy 4/111 IIIIlIIII/t Primary E.\&#39;aminer-Henry K. Artis Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Elliott l. Pollock 57 ABSTRACT In a collecting device for solid and/or liquid waste material, the inner surface of a preferably conical receiving member is covered with a pliant elastic tubing also forming a tubular continuation from a bottom opening in the receiving member, said elastic tubing being fixed only at its top and bottom edges and being permitted to stretch out and to return on the rest of its length. A thin protective material is, after each use of the collecting device, fed from a store outside the receiving member downwards through said receiving member and said tubular part along the inner surface of the elastic tubing into a receptacle below the tubular part. A feed-down mechanism operatively engages said tubular part, alternatingly stretching its upper part downwards against its resilience and letting it return, thereby pulling the covering thin protective material and the waste collected in it down into the receptacle and feeding new unused protective material into the device from the store.  
 14 Claims, 12&#39; Drawing Figures PATENTEUAPRZZIQYS 878,572  
 SHLU 2 [IF 6 FIG. 20  
 VI/II/l/l/I/I/A IIIIIIIIIIIIL PATENTEnAPRzzms SHEET 3 [IF 6 FIG. 2b  
 PATENTEDAPRZZIHIS sum 5 or g FlG.5b  
 FIG. 50  
 COLLECTING DEVICE FOR SOLID OR LIQUID WASTE MATERIAL The invention relates to a collecting device for solid and/or liquid waste material. The invention can for instance effectively be used as a closet. whereby the inner side of a receiving member is covered with a thin flexible protective material with a surface that is waterrepellent in the direction from the interior of the receiving member and the protective material together with received waste material is moved towards a receptacle positioned below the receiving member.  
  Environmental problems when collecting closet waste material have in recent years been more and more important. The main disadvantages with for instance water closets have become obvious and several other solutions have therefore been proposed. The invention thereby concerns a kind of collecting device enclosing the waste material in a thin and flexible protective material adapted to be fed through a closet seat or the like. An object of the invention is to simplify and to cheapen previously known arrangements. where the waste material is collected in exchangeable receptacles.  
  The invention is based on the utilization of the elastic properties of a material. The inner surface of the receiving member is covered by a pliant elastic tubing fixed at the upper edge of said member and below the receiving member passing through a region with a feeding mechanism to the lower part of this region and&#39;fixed there. The receptacle is then tightly surrounding the lower part of the elastic tubing. The protective material is in the form of a thin. flexible. continuous tube or in the form of plane overlapping strips of the waterrepellent material brought over the upper edge of the elastic tubing. down through said tubing and into the receptable. The feeding mechanism has an upper and a lower clamping means which in different horizontal planes are firmly attached to the outside of the elastic tubing. At least one of the clamping means is vertically displaceable relative to the other means, the elastic stretching and returning of the elastic tubing being utilized by alternately clamping and opening the clamping means synchronously with the vertical displacement for bringing about a pumping effect feeding down the protective material and at the same time the waste material. which is enclosed by said material. during slipping against the interior wall of the elastic tubing in a downwardly direction towards the receptacle and into the same.  
  The clamping means are secured to the elastic tubing by means of buckles or the like arranged at the outer surface of the tubing. In this way a stop is obtained for further stretching and it is guaranteed that the elastic tubing will not be loosened from the attachment at the lower part of the feed-down region.  
  The clamping of the elastic tubing must be so tight that the thin flexible protective material fed down inside the tubing is securely transported during the feeding action and is retained by the lower clamping means. when the upper clamping means loosens its grip and is brought back to the starting position. As an example, this clamping effect can be obtained by using scissorslike clamping means which with the one leg portions are inserted in the buckles at the outer side of the clastic tubing and with the opposite leg portions are brought into engagement with eccentric-like members being part of a combined feed-down and actuating mechanism for the clamping means.  
  The invention will be explained more in detail in connection with some embodiments which are disclosed in the accompanying drawings. where FIG. 1 is a sectional view diagrammatically showing a collecting device according to the invention in the shape of a closet.  
  FIGS. 2a and b show detail projections of an embodiment of the feed-down mechanism.  
  FIG. 3 shows clamping means belonging thereto in closed and opened state.  
  FIGS. 4a. b and 0 show two other embodiments of the feed-down mechanism belonging to one another.  
  FIGS. 5a and b show detail projections of the attaching place for the receptacle and FIGS. 60. b and c show the attaching of the receptacle and its sealing according to two embodiments.  
  FIG. 1 shows an embodiment with a closet. which has a conical receiving member 1 produced from a relatively thin. self-supporting material in order that the sides outside said member will be left free. The upper edge of the member is softly curved to a seat ring 2 and the lower part 3 of the member is inserted in a support running into a substantially planar. horizontal part 4, with a free opening 5 at the lower part of the member. The horizontal part 4 is supported by a number of vertical bars 6, 7 the lower ends of which are secured in a base 8, which is parallel to the horizontal part 4. Under the free opening 5 a tubular region 9 extends between the horizontal part 4 and the base 8. At the underside of the base an attachment ring 10 is provided serving as a fixing device for a receptable 11 preferably made out of a soft, flexible material.  
  From the outer edge of the seat ring 2, downwardly through the conical member along its inner wall. and. further. as a wall section in the tubular region 9 and around the edge of the attachment ring 10. an elastic tubing 12 is tightly fitted. At the outer side of the attachment ring the receptacle 11 is positioned outside the elastic tubing 12. The ductility of the elastic body is utilized to transfer the waste material within the tubular region 9 in a manner which will be described later As an inside cover and protective material along the inner surface of the elastic tubing a thin, flexible material is used. for instance of cellulose type, with a waterproof layer on that side which will be turned towards the waste-material. In FIG. 1 two modifications for depositing said material are shown. In the left hand part of the Figure the material 13&#39; is kept folded in a heap 14&#39;. This heap is intened to extend around the member I, the material 13&#39; in a tubular shape being moved around and over the seat ring 2 downwardly through the receiving member and through the tubular region 9. In the right hand part of the Figure a bobbin [4&#34; is shown with unrolled thin flexible material 13&#34; which should be of the above mentioned kind. Such bobbins are arranged at regular intervals around the member I, for instance three or four bobbins. so that material strips will overlap each other. when they have been moved around and over the edge of the seat ring downwardly into the tubular region 9. In this case no completely tight film against the elastic tubing 12 is obtained. This is. however. of no importance if the protective material 13 is suitably chosen.  
  On one of the bars 7 an upper clamping means and a lower clamping means 16 are journalled. the upper clamping means being easily displaceable along the bar 7. The lower clamping means is journalled on the bar without being displaceable. The clamping means may have an arbitrary shape, but in the embodiment they are contemplated to be scissors-like according to FIG. 3, where the upper illustration shows a clamping means in a closed condition and the lower one in an opened condition. The left hand leg portions of the of the illustrated clamping means are intended to embrace the elastic tubing 12 with the enclosed protective material 13, and when clamping to compress the tubing together with said protective material. The eccentric disks l8, l9 serve as engaging elements, which either press out the right hand leg portions of the illustrated clamping means or let them be brought together by the elasticity of the tubing 12 when the eccentric disk l8, 19 takes the position shown in the lower illustration.  
  To the right in FIG. 1 a mechanism 17 is diagrammatically shown for feeding down the waste material to the receptacle. In order to be able to use the same mechanism for alternately fastening and loosening the two clamping means l5, 16 around the elastic tubing 12 and for feeding down the waste material, there is a handle 22 (FIG. a) which is turnable approximately 90 when, as in FIG. 1, it is in level with the seat ring. and also a position when it has been moved downwardly towards the horizontal part 4. According to FIG. 2a, the handle is placed on a tubular rod 20, which is displaceable along a rod 2] journalled in the base 8. The tubular rod 20 runs through a sleeve 30, which is attached to the horizontal part 4. In the sleeve 30 a guide pin 23 is mounted which is movable on two vertical grooves 24, 25, displaced 90 on the outer surface of the rod 20. At the upper and the lower ends of the grooves 24, 25 there are horizontal transition grooves 26, 27, whereby the pin 23 can be guided from one vertical groove 24, 25 to the other one. by turning the handle 22 through 90.  
  At the lower part of the tubular rod 20 a bracket 18 provided with an eccentric 33 for the upper clamping means is adapted and is turnable together with the rod 20. The right hand portions of the clamping means in FIG. 2a are guided by two plates 31, 32 between which the eccentric 33 is provided. By means of the handle 22 the clamping means between the plates can be displaced downwardly along the guide bar 7, and if the eccentric 33 is brought to such a position that the clamping means embraces the elastic tubing 12 and the left hand leg portions in the Figure are inserted in the buckles 12 and 12&#34; on the outer surface of the tubing, the latter will be stretched downwardly, and the protective material and the waste material enclosed in the tubing will be moved downwardly in the direction towards the receptacle 11.  
  Through the action of the device according to the invention, the clamping means alternately press the elastic tubing&#39;l2 together. i.e. the lower clamping means will be loosened when the upper clamping means is embracing and pinching the tubing. so that the waste material can be moved downwardly into the receptacle being enclosed in the thin flexible protective material 13. For influencing the lower clamping means 19, the rod 21 is provided with a vertical groove 29, in which a pin 28 runs, which protrudes from the inner wall of the tubular rod 20. At the lower part of the rod 21, guide plates 34, 35 and therebetween an eccentric 36 for the legs of the lower clamping means 16 are provided, the eccentric 36, the groove 29 and the pin 28 being so arranged with respect to theeccentric 33 that the two eccentrics are mainly arranged in relation to one another.  
  For preventing the handle 22 from being moved in the wrong direction in the positions of the horizontal transition grooves 26, 27, said grooves are shaped according to FIG. 2b. In a sectional view the tubular rod 20 is shown at the level where the pin 23 is situated. The pin is arranged in the sleeve 30 in a hole, and is spring-loaded by a spring 37 against the bottom of the vertical groove 24. The transition groove 26 has an inclined outline for the purpose of blocking the moving of the pin 23 into this groove from the position shown in FIG. 2b. Only if the pin 23 is moved from the other vertical groove 25, it can be freely moved in the transition groove 26. The other transition groove 27 is arranged in a corresponding manner, the inclined outline being so arranged that the pin can only be moved in one direction, implying a transition from one vertical groove to the other.  
  In FIG. 4 two further embodiments of the feed-down mechanism are shown, the one in FIG. 4a and the other one in FIG. 4b and c. The first embodiment includes an upper pair of buckles 12&#39; on the elastic tubing 12 and a feed-down mechanism for the tubing engaging these buckles. At the lower pair of buckles 12 the opening and closing mechanism which is necessary there is not shown. since a suitable embodiment of such a mechanism will be described in connection with FIGS. 4b and 4c.  
  The feed-down mechanism in this case consists of two endless chains 38 and 39 at each side of the elastic tubing 12. Each chain runs over two chain wheels 40, 41 and 42, 43, respectively. In one place on each chain a holder 44, 45 is applied. In each holder one end of a bar 46, 47 is mounted. The other end of each bar is mounted in the corresponding brackets of the other pair of endless chains. which is not shown in FIG. 40. Each bar is inserted through one of the buckles 12&#39; on the elastic tubing. In the position shown in the FIG. 4a tubing is pressed together between the bars 46 and 47. If the chain wheels are driven in the opposite directions so that the outer chain parts are brought upwardly in the FIG. 4a buckles 12&#39; will be moved downwardly towards the chain wheels 41 and 43. During this entire movement the buckles 12&#39; will be pressed together and the tubing 12 will be stretched downwardly. The action of the mechanism then requires that the buckles 12&#34; be kept in the position shown in FIG. 4a. When the buckles 12 have been moved to the outer side of the chain wheels 41, 43 by the chains the pinching of the tubing will end and on the other hand the mechanism must allow the buckles 12&#34; to be pressed together when the buckles 12&#39; start being brought apart. After that the buckles 12&#34; must be kept pinched until the buckles 12&#39; have been brought back by the chains to the position shown in FIG. 4a, when the buckles 12&#34; are brought apart again. It can be suitable to arrange one or more pairs of guide Ways 48, 49 against which the bars 46, 47 can slide when they are moved downwardly. The bars can be provided with sliding bodies or rollers running against the guide ways. This will guarantee that the bars are being kept pressed together.  
  Bearing means for the chain wheels are not shown in detail in FIG. 4a but are indicated by dashed-line bodies 50, 51, which. if necessary, can be pressed together by means of springs 52, 53, thereby facilitating the passage of hard objects in the elastic tubing.  
  In FIG. 4b and 40 a simplified feed-down mechanism is shown. Two bars 54, 55 which are insertedthrough buckles 12&#39; or 12&#34; on an elastic tubing 12 are either journalled in fixed bearings near the periphery of two gear wheels 56, 57 and 58, 59, respectively. or so arranged in radial grooves in said gear wheels that the bars under spring pressure are pressed against the periphery of the wheels. The gear wheels are journalled in bearing boxes 60, 61 in a manner not shown in detail. The gear wheels 56 and 58 are meshing and so are the gear wheels 57 and 59. By means of a motor 62 a shaft journalled in the bearing boxes is driven by two gear drives 63. 64 rotating the gear wheels 56, 57.  
  When the pairs of gear wheels with the bars 54, 55 rotate. the bars will be brought together or apart. thereby pressing together or loosening the elastic tubing. In this way a downwardly drawing motion of the elastic tubing is obtained when the buckles are brought in a condition pressed together a short distance downwardly. When using such a feed-down mechanism it may be suitable to rotate the rod-driving gear wheel several revolutions for each feed-down occasion. It is also. possible to arrange several of such feed-down mechanisms after each other to be able to obtain a pulsating feed-down movement. Under all circumstances it is, however. necessary that one of th feed-down mechanisms keeps the tubing pinched while the others are open.  
  In FlGS..5a and b the attachment ring for the elastic tubing 12 and for the receptacle 11 is shown. The elastic tubing is brought from below around the attachment ring. a bead edge 65 on the tubing falls into a corresponding groove in the outer surface of the ring. At one place of the circumference a removable block 66 closely bears against the folded over tubing part. The block has a protruding part. which hooks to the attachment ring at its upper part. The receptacle ll.is fastened with a seal means around the attachment ring and the block 66. Through the block an exhaust tube 67 runs which makes possible an evacuating connection from the receptacle to outside air or to a ventilating system. Several modifications of means for evacuating the receptacle ll and for the arrangement of the attachment ring 10 are possible within the scope of the invention.  
  In FIG. 1 it is a diagrammatically shown at the lower part of the Figure thatthe receptacle 11 may rest on a resilient support 68. Then a limit switch 69 or the like can be arranged to give a signal when the receptacle has obtained a certain weight. This can be used as an indication that the receptacle must be exchanged. For instance. the indication can be performed by means of sound or light and also a locking device for the feeddown be influenced.  
  In FIG. 6a and b two embodiments of the connection of the receptacle 11 to the attachment ring 10 are shown. According to FIG. 6a a few centimetres of the upper border of the receptacle at the inner side are provided with cement 70 and from both sides they are cemented together upto a portion at the middle of the border, where the cement along both opposite inner sides is provided with a removable protective strip 71 in order to prevent cementing togethenThemiddle portion with said protective strip corresponds to the circumference of the attachment ring 10 and said portion is fastened to the attachment ring the protective strip then preventing cementing together. When the receptacle is removed. the protective strip can be removed so that the middle portion can also be cemented together. The receptacle is suitably made of paper 72 and on the inside it is covered with a water impermeable film 73. The above mentioned cement is applied on said film.  
  According to FIG. 6b the border of the receptacle is to the width of some centimeters turned inwards. This border is provided with cement 74, except on a middle portion. where a protective strip 75 is provided. The receptacle is fastened at the protective strip to the attachment ring 10 in the same manner as described above. When the receptacle is taken away. the protective strip is removed and the middle portion is cemented together. whereaft&#39;er a further cement coated reinforcement strip 76 (FIG. 6c) can be applied over the joint. Also in this case the receptacle is suitably made of paper which on the inner surface is provided with a water impermeable film.  
  The embodiments described are primarily intended for a closet. but the invention can also be used for taking care of waste material of vegetable or animal origin. which through bacterial activity rapidly end up in a break-down process, and which when not using the collecting system according to the invention can cause important sanitary inconveniences both at collection and keeping or at transport. The invention makes possible the collection of waste material of above mentioned kind from private. public and municipal institutions, from food industries and the like and of certain specific waste material which requires selective transport and- /or treatment. for instance latrinefwhich more and more is regarded necessary to bring back in its correct ecological system both from water protection point of view and for recovering of energy. I L i What we claim is: v  
  l. A device for collecting solid and/or liquidwaste material comprising a receiving&#39;member the inside of which is covered with a thin flexible protective material having a surface that is water-repellent in the direction fromthe interior of the receiving member, said protective material together with received waste material being movable towards a receptacle positioned below the receiving member, the inner surfaceof the receiving member being covered with a pliant elastic tubing which is fixed at the upper edge of said receiving member. said elastic tubing extendingbelow the receiving member and passing through a region having a feeddown mechanism to the lower part of said region where said tubing is fixed and where the receptacle is tightly disposed around the lower part of the elastic tubing; the water-repellent protective material running over the upper edge of said elastic tubing down through said tubing and into said receptacle; the feed-down mechanism being provided with an upper and a lower clamping means which in different horizontal planes are firmly attached to the outer side of the elastic tubing. at least one of said clamping means being vertically displaceable relative to the other one, said feed-down mechanism including means for vertically displacing said clamping means relative toone another to effect elastic stretching and return of the tubing, said feeddown mechanism further including means for alternately closing and opening the clamping means synchronously with the vertical displacement of said clamping means to produce a pumping effect operative to feed the protective material and the waste material within the elastic tubing downwardly towards and into the receptacle.  
  2. The device of claim 1 including a supporting stand for said receiving member, the upper side of said stand having an opening for the receipt of the waste material. and the lower side of said stand having an opening for the delivery of the waste material into said receptacle. said receptacle being attached to said opening at the lower side.  
  3. The device of claim 2 wherein the elastic tubing is wrinkled for at least a part of its length to define a wave form configuration having wave troughs and wave crests in horizontal direction to increase the elasticity of the tubing in its stretching direction.  
  4. The device of claim 1 wherein the attachment between the clamping means and the elastic tubing is achieved by the cooperation of the clamping means with buckles disposed at the outside of the tubing.  
  5. The device of claim 1 wherein the water-repellent protective material is in the shape ofa thin flexible tubing. supplied from a heap surrounding the outer wall of the receiving member.  
  6. The device of claim 1 wherein the water-repellent protective material is in the shape of plane overlapping strips. supplied from bobbins mounted around and alongside the receiving member.  
  7. The device of claim 1 wherein the protective material consists of cellulose having a water-repellent surface on the side thereof which faces the received waste material.  
  8. The device of claim 4 wherein the elastic tubing at its lower portion extends downwardly through the interior of and is then folded outwardly over and around the exterior of a rigidly arranged attachment ring and is secured to the outer wall of said ring, the receptacle being arranged to enclose the tubing tightly on the outer wall surface of the attachment ring.  
  9. The device of claim 8 wherein the attachment ring at its outer wall surface is provided with at least one removable block closely bearing against the folded over part of the elastic tubing, said block being provided with an evacuating tube for providing an exhaust connection from the inside of the receptacle to the outside air.  
  10. The device of claim 4 wherein the clamping means are of scissors-like configuration having first leg portions cooperating with the buckles at the outside of the elastic tubing and having second leg portions engaged by eccentric bodies comprising a portion of the feed-down mechanism operative as an actuating mechill anism for opening and closing the clamping means.  
  11. The device of claim 4 wherein the upper, vertically displaceable clamping means consists of a pair of endless chains at each side of the elastic tubing, said chains including straight portions extending along the tubing at the region of the feed-down mechanism, said chains running over upper chain wheels at the upper part of said region and over lower chain wheels at the lower part of the region, each chain being provided with a holder, bars inserted respectively through the two holders on two parallel chains on each side of the tubing. the bars being so positioned on the chains that they are conveyed downwardly in parallel adjacent to one another along the straight portions of the chains which are situated closest to one another, each of said bars extending through buckles at diametrically opposed points of the tubing thereby to stretch the elastic tubing downwardly during compression between the bars and during elongation of the tubing and alternately to return the elastic tubing to an unstretched condition when the bars after having passed over the lower chain wheels are conveyed upwards at the outer side of the chain wheels, and guide ways against which the bars slide during the compression of the tubing.  
  12. The device of claim 4 wherein the clamping means consist of bars arranged between pairs of gears rotating against and meshing with each other on both sides of the elastic tubing within the region for the feeddown mechanism, said bars being journalled in radial grooves in said gears and being forced by spring means towards the periphery of the gears, so that the bars during the rotation of the gears alternately reach a position where they are nearest to each other and a position where they are diametrically as far away from each other as possible, the bars passing through buckles on both sides of the elastic tubing.  
  13. The device of claim 12 wherein a pair of said clamping means are disposed respectively at an upper pair of said buckles on the tubing and at a lower pair of said buckles. the driving of the gears being such that one clamping means always keeps the tubing compressed when the other clamping means keeps it opened.  
  14. The device of claim 1 wherein the opening into said receptacle is located on a side of the receptacle which is cemented closed except for a central portion which is dimensioned to correspond to the circumference of an attachment ring for said receptacle, said central portion including pre-cemented surfaces which are provided with protective strips intended to be removed when a full receptacle is being replaced in order to permit a complete cementing of the opening of the full receptacle.