Water conserving toilet

Abstract

Disclosed is a toilet (1) comprising a toilet bowl (2), a passage which extends from the base of the toilet bowl to a drain outlet (30), and a gate (100), the gate having an open position which allows water within the toilet bowl to flow out of the drain outlet by way of the passage and a closed position in which the gate retains a continuous body of water (98) within the toilet bowl and a portion of the passage, up to a fill level (96), the toilet further comprising a divider (19) arranged to close off the passage above the fill level and to extend below the fill level at a location intermediate the toilet bowl and the water line (100) where the surface of the continuous body of water contacts the gate, to form a water trap in use when the gate is in the closed position and water is retained up to the fill level. The gate may be a flap operated by a hydraulic actuator (36), responsive to operation of a manually operable flush control, using mains water as the hydraulic fluid. Water is supplied by a spray ring around the rim of the toilet bowl. The toilet requires less water to flush than toilets including a conventional S-shaped water trap.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates to the field of water conserving toilets.BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION[0002]At the present time, one third or more of the water consumed by many households is used to flush conventional toilets, which have a cistern and S-shaped water trap. In conventional toilets, only a small fraction of the flush water is required to cleanse the toilet bowl and the majority of the flush water is employed to provide hydraulic energy sufficient to impart kinetic energy to the water already present in the toilet bowl and to carry solids through the S-shaped water trap.[0003]Many innovations have been proposed to control the amount of flush water dispensed by a cistern. However, the kinetic energy required to carry solids through an S-shaped water trap limits the extent to which it is possible to conserve water in this way. It is known to provide a toilet, such as a chemical toilet, in which the S-shaped water trap is dispensed with and an apert...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008]Nevertheless, the provision of a divider which is arranged to close off the passage above the fill level and to extend below the fill level, into the continuous body of water in use, to form a water trap, prevents unpleasantly smelling gas from diffusing from the drain outlet to the toilet bowl in the gas phase. The toilet should preferably be formed and arranged so that there is no other path for gas from the drain outlet to diffuse into the surrounding atmosphere in the gas phase.

[0034]Preferably, a pressure equalising device is provided which is operable to restore pressure in the hydraulic actuator (e.g. within the piston driving chamber where relevant) to an equilibrium pressure a period of time after operation of the manually operable flush control. Preferably, the pressure equalising device is formed and arranged so that pressure within the hydraulic actuator either does not change, or changes only slowly, for a period of time and then returns rapidly to equilibrium to return the gate rapidly to the closed position. Typically, the flush mechanism is arranged so that operation of the manually operable flush control increases the pressure within the pressurisable chamber, and the pressure equalising device is operable to cause pressure to decrease rapidly to equilibrium pressure a period of time after operation of the manually operable flush control, in order to return the gate to the closed position.

Problems solved by technology

However, the kinetic energy required to carry solids through an S-shaped water trap limits the extent to which it is possible to conserve water in this way.

However, unless the flap is gas tight, gas will leak from the drain outlet to the surrounding atmosphere.

It is difficult to provide a reliable gas tight seal around a moveable flap, particularly as the flap may be soiled in use, and particularly where it is desirable to retain a body of water within the toilet bowl prior to flushing.

Furthermore, a toilet of this type could not be fitted into the toilet fixture which is currently typical in the UK, in which the drain outlet mates with a pipe, the interior base of which is below the base of the toilet bowl, extending backwards from the toilet, above floor level.

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