Concealed Vehicle Toilet With Adjustable Foundation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing portable toilets are cumbersome, difficult to install, and not easily adjustable to fit different vehicle seats, making them inconvenient for emergency use and incompatible with various vehicle types and user height preferences.
Innovation Solution
A concealed toilet system for vehicles featuring a flexible container, adjustable foundation member with L-type fittings, and a modular design allowing easy installation and height adjustment, along with a secondary seat for children, ensuring compatibility with various seat sizes and user preferences.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If portable toilets are made functional and complete, then they provide adequate restroom facilities, but they become heavy and bulky making them difficult to carry and install
Solution Approach 1:
The portable toilet is divided into separate components: a reusable base unit with adjustment mechanisms and removable waste containment bags. This segmentation allows the heavy functional components to be minimized while maintaining reliability, and the waste bags can be easily replaced without moving the entire unit.
Solution Approach 2:
The base unit is designed with universal adjustment capabilities to fit multiple vehicle seat types and configurations. The L-type adjustment fittings and threaded rods allow the same base unit to accommodate different heights and angles, eliminating the need for multiple specialized units and reducing overall weight requirements.
2Adaptability or versatility
If portable toilets are designed to fit different vehicle seats, then they become versatile, but they require complex adjustments and installation procedures
Solution Approach 1:
The toilet assembly incorporates dynamic adjustment mechanisms including threaded rods with locking nuts and L-type fittings that can be rotated and positioned at different angles. These mechanisms allow the structure to adapt to various seat geometries through simple rotational and positional adjustments rather than complex reconfiguration.
Solution Approach 2:
The design allows for parameter changes in height, angle, and position through the adjustment mechanisms. The threaded rods can be extended or retracted, the L-type fittings can be rotated to different angles, and the entire assembly can be repositioned, enabling the same unit to match different vehicle seat parameters without complex installation procedures.
3Ease of operation
If portable toilets include height adjustment for user preference, then they improve user comfort, but they require additional adjustment mechanisms increasing complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The height adjustment mechanism is merged with the mounting structure itself. The threaded rods that secure the toilet to the vehicle seat also serve as the height adjustment elements. By combining the mounting function with the adjustment function, user comfort is improved without adding separate complex adjustment mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
A concealed toilet comprises a flexible container positioned in a cavity in a vehicle seat. A foundation member attached to the flexible container secures the flexible container to a floor pan of the vehicle via a support assembly. The support assembly comprises externally threaded rods, each having a first end rotatably inserted into an internally threaded L-type adjustment fitting for moving the foundation member between first and second positions along the externally threaded rod, and a second end configured as a spherical bearing stud. An internally threaded lock screw and jam nut arrangement restrains angular movement of the foundation member. Mounting flanges fixedly attached to the floor pan of the vehicle comprise a socket for accommodating the spherical bearing stud. A primary toilet seat member is detachably attached to the foundation member and lock hook assemblies are fixedly attached to opposing sides of the foundation member.