Collection Systems for Use in Offset Pit Latrines Having Pour Flush Latrine Pans, Collectors, Offset Pit Latrines and Related Methods

Abstract

The invention described herein includes a latrine pan and collector system for use in an offset pit latrine. The system permits use of a latrine pan having a flapper in an offset leach pit context, and eliminated the necessity of large scale installation of a concrete collection box, which can collect unsanitary debris. The system of the invention includes (1) a pour-flush latrine pan and (2) a collector. The collector includes a collector body that engages the latrine pan, defines a discharge opening, and secures an inclined surface sloping downwardly between an impact zone positioned beneath the outlet of the latrine pan and the discharge opening, the collector body securing the inclined surface at a position sufficiently distant from the underside of the latrine pan so that the inclined surface does not impede pivoting of the flapper, whereby material discharged from the outlet of the latrine pan contacts the inclined surface at the impact zone and slides downwardly from the impact zone to the discharge opening.Also included is the collector described above, related latrine structures and methods.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to each of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61 / 858,838, filed Jul. 26, 2013 and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61 / 949,626, filed Mar. 7, 2014, each entitled “Collection Systems for Use in Offset Pit Latrines Having Pour-Flush Latrine Pans, Collectors, Offset Pit Latrines, and Related Methods,” the disclosures of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]It is reported that about 2.5 billion people worldwide do not have access to any type of improved sanitation facility. These individuals suffer significant adverse health effects, including death, as a direct result of a lack of improved sanitation, including lack of sanitary toilet facilities. Diarrheal diseases resulting from lack of sanitation are the second leading cause of child deaths in the world, claiming over 700,000 lives per year. The most affec...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The invention is a system for using a latrine pan in an offset pit latrine. The system includes a pouser-flush latrine pan and a collector. The pan is mounted above a collection basin with a flapper that can be opened or closed using a counterbalance device. The collector has an inclined surface that allows material to slide down from the pan without impeding its movement. The technical effects include the elimination of the need for a large concrete collection box and improved sanitation.

Problems solved by technology

These individuals suffer significant adverse health effects, including death, as a direct result of a lack of improved sanitation, including lack of sanitary toilet facilities.

Such individuals do not have regular and easy access to a running fresh water supply or to facilities for the sanitary disposal of human excreta.

Traditional, open pit latrines, bucket latrines, and hanging latrines do not meet the criteria of basic or improved sanitation, in part because the hygienic separation of the actual waste products from human contact is not ensured, and also because of the unregulated and uncontrolled release of various sewage-generated gases from these types of latrines.

Gases emitted from the decomposing human waste in a leach pit pose, at minimum, an olfactory challenge, as their odor is unpleasant.

Exposure to these gases, even in low levels over the long term can result in chronic mucus membrane irritation, cause chronic coughing or sore throat, shortness of breath, and fluid accumulation in the lungs.

At very high concentrations (>300 ppm), hydrogen sulfide can cause loss of consciousness and death.

Pour-flush latrines are considered by the UN and the World Health Organization to be suitable, improved sanitation facilities in warmer weather locales where water or sullage is readily available, but sewer pipes and plumbed in toilet facilities are not.

In most latrines, including pour-flush latrines, once the excreta is delivered to the leach pit, it is degraded by aerobic and anaerobic means, and will necessarily generate a variety of gases, many of which smell unpleasant, and some which are harmful to one's health.

However, conventional offset pit latrines still suffer several drawbacks.

The disadvantages to this configuration are several-fold: (1) the gooseneck outlet of the squat pan and / or the surfaces of the collection box tend to become blocked or obstructed with paper or other objects used for anal cleaning by the latrine user; (2) even if cleaning objects are not used, excrement may accumulate around the bends and curvature of the gooseneck structure an / or on the surfaces of the collection box during long term use, leading to an unsanitary and / or foul smelling environment in the squat room and the dwelling; and (3) the water seal may be ineffective if insufficient water is left in the gooseneck, allowing for passage of gases and insects.

These bends frequently and regularly become blocked by the bulky anal cleansing materials (cardboard, grasses, leaves, maize cobs, vegetable peels, cement bags, rags, etc.) utilized in the absence of Western-style toilet paper, resulting in sewage backup or a reversion to non-sanitized waste disposal methods.

Moreover, many times there remains insufficient water in the pipe to form a seal, defeating altogether the purpose of installing a U-bend or an S-trap in the first place.

Furthermore, when U-bends or other conventional water traps have sufficiently large cross sections to avoid clogging (e.g., 3 inches or larger in diameter), they may require large quantities of water to flush, as the trapway or U-bend itself may hold more than a liter of water to form a complete seal.

This is disadvantageous as it requires the user to often carry and store larger amounts of water to the latrine, often over long distances.

It can result in a more rapid filling of the pit when drainage or filtering of liquid from the pit is hampered by dense soil.

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