Valve And P Trap For A Waterless Urinal

Abstract

The inventive subject matter provides apparatus, systems and methods in which a skirt valve mechanism is supplied that can easily ret to an existing, prior art waterless urinal fixture. The skirt valve reduces or prevents evaporation from a P trap and does not present a barrier to liquid flow through the inlet to the outlet of the device, but prevents the passage of fluids (gases or liquids) from the outlet to the inlet. The skirt valve similarly prevents the attempted passage of a pest species (for example, an insect pest) from the outlet to the inlet of the device, thereby prevent the pest from exiting the sewers through the waterless urinal. A P trap is also provided that can be retro-fitted to existing waterless urinals and is compatible with the skirt valve mechanism, thereby replacing prior art float valve devices.

Description

[0001]This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 108,942, filed Jan. 28, 2015. All extrinsic materials identified herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The field of the invention is plumbing fixtures, specifically waterless urinals.BACKGROUND[0003]The background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.[0004]With supplies of potable water decreasing, there is an increasing interest in water conservation. One opportunity to conserve water is to decrease or eliminate water used in the transfer of human waste from the receiving plumbing fixture to a municipal sewer system. A large number of “low flush” toilet designs are currently in use, which reduce the amount o...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

This patent describes a device that can be added to an existing waterless urinal to reduce the evaporation of fluids and prevent the passage of pests or other harmful substances from the outlet to the inlet. It replaces the need for traditional float valve devices and is designed to be easily installed. This invention helps to maintain the sanitary conditions of the urinal and prevents the buildup of harmful substances.

Problems solved by technology

Unfortunately over time this oil is lost, due to the inevitable loss of this material to the sewer system during normal use and during cleaning or sanitation.

For example, the common use of a hose to rinse the fixture can result in the sudden introduction of large volumes of water to the normally waterless fixture, resulting in disruption of the oil layer and loss of the oil as an oil / water mixture that moves on to the sewer.

The loss of this oil layer results in unpleasant odors.

In many waterless urinal designs the oil layer can only be restored by replacing a relatively expensive cartridge within the fixture and since it can be difficult to determine precisely where an odor is originating from, the loss of an oil layer in a single urinal can necessitate servicing of all of the urinals in a bank of such fixtures.

This can represent a considerable expense.

Unfortunately, in the absence of an evaporation barrier (for example, through loss of an oil barrier) liquids held within the P trap will evaporate over time and render the P trap useless.

In addition such P traps are not always successful in prevent pests from moving up a sewer line and exiting from a bathroom fixture.

A layer of oil, such as is commonly used in conventional waterless urinals, does not prevent these pests from exiting the drain.

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