Toilet-type device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current water-saving toilet technologies face challenges such as high installation costs, space requirements, unhygienic and uncomfortable designs, and inefficient liquid and solid separation, particularly for household use, leading to water wastage and user discomfort.
Innovation Solution
A toilet design that integrates a covered space behind the bowl for urine and water collection, connected to the drainage system, with a double discharge tank and a urinal seat for women, allowing perpendicular movement and easy cleaning, while maintaining the traditional solid deposition design for comfort and hygiene.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If a double discharge tank is used to separate liquid and solid depositions, then water saving is achieved, but water wastage occurs due to discharging half the tank contents to remove water caught between the bottom and siphon
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the problematic water collection area between the tank bottom and siphon, eliminating the source of water wastage. By redesigning the tank structure to prevent water accumulation in this zone, the system avoids the need to discharge half the tank contents, thus resolving the contradiction between water saving and water wastage.
Solution Approach 2:
The tank is segmented into functional zones with optimized water flow paths. The discharge mechanism is separated into targeted liquid and solid pathways, allowing precise water delivery without unnecessary discharge of excess water, thereby preventing water wastage while maintaining water saving benefits.
2Loss of energy
If urinals are installed to save water on liquid depositions, then water consumption is reduced, but installation costs and complexity increase due to space requirements and installation conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the urinal function with the existing toilet structure by integrating a partitioned bowl design into the traditional toilet. This combination allows water saving on liquid depositions without requiring separate urinal installation, thereby reducing installation complexity and costs while maintaining the water saving benefit.
Solution Approach 2:
The toilet is designed with multi-functionality, serving both as a traditional toilet and as a water-saving urinal for liquid depositions. The partitioned bowl allows the same device to handle both liquid and solid depositions efficiently, eliminating the need for separate urinal installation and reducing overall system complexity.
3Loss of energy
If urinals are installed to save water, then water consumption is reduced, but hygiene and comfort deteriorate due to lack of cleaning mechanisms and user discomfort
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service cleaning mechanisms where the toilet's water discharge system automatically cleans the bowl and partition surfaces during each flushing cycle. This eliminates the need for manual cleaning intervention, maintaining hygiene standards while preserving the water-saving benefits of the urinal function.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning action is made continuous through each flushing cycle, ensuring that the bowl and partitions are regularly cleaned without requiring separate cleaning operations. This continuous useful action maintains user comfort and hygiene while preserving the water-saving functionality of the integrated urinal design.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively separates liquid and solid deposits, reducing water usage, enhancing hygiene, comfort, and aesthetics, while being self-sufficient and easy to maintain, addressing the limitations of existing technologies.
Implementation Method 1
a siphon (7) connected to the bowl (6) and to the drainage (10), for the removal of water and solid depositions
Data Source
AI summary
Toilet like device, which saves water through the separation of solid and liquid depositions, in a hygienic, comfortable, simple, autonomous and aesthetic manner. It's composed by a main toilet body, which has an open space within itself, connected to the main toilet bowl, a space which is open in its front and superior sides. This space works as a water and urine recipient, the water and urine come from the urinal, which at the same time works as a drainage for urine and water. This space also works as a liquid recipient when the urinal is in vertical position, since it is very likely that, after a liquid deposition, the urinal needs to be raised towards a vertical position, for various different reasons. Any liquid remaining in the urinal falls into this space, without going into the rest toilet body, and much less onto the user.