The invention relates to an ecological toilet comprising a body and a pot provided with an opening at the bottom.

Background of the invention Since times when simple seats were used and waste was simply directed to holes excavated in the soil, devices intended to use by humans to expel their natural waste, such as urine, faeces and other waste, underwent a substantial evolution. Several known types and models of toilets are in use today, among which one can mention the most common devices, fitted with hydraulic siphon at the bottom, where along with a large amount of clean, drinking water, coming from a high discharge box or a hydraulic pressure valve, waste products are sucked through the siphon to the sanitary sewer system. Other models employing the concept of siphon may be equipped with electrical or electronic appliances to control the volume of water.

If used for transport means such as motor homes, trailers, ships, trains and boats water saving is of a crucial importance. Nonetheless known toilets normally use between 1 to 10 litres of water per flush and even up to 20 litres of water per flush in case of hydraulic valves. Nautical toilets are the most economical and are often provided with macerating pumps to remove and mill solid wastes.

In seek of improving water economy, toilets utilizing vacuums have been proposed to suck the waste. Though economical, vacuum toilets are noisy, expensive and difficult to install.

Some methods of electro coagulation associated with flotation of residual water treatment were developed, where pressurized residual water passes between electrolytic energized plates, to create larger particles of precipitated organic material, particulate material and metallic contaminants, which are then transferred to a flotation chamber where air micro bubbles are introduced that cause the floating of the particles, for their subsequent removal, providing clarified wastewater. Nonetheless such processes of dewatering a waste proved unsatisfactory mainly because of the high electricity costs. It has been an object of the invention to provide a toilet that would be free of the above mentioned drawbacks of prior art solutions, minimizing fresh water consumption and generating ecologically, environmentally friendly waste water.

Summary of the invention In order to accomplish the aforementioned and other objects, according to the present invention the toilet body encompasses a substantially closed cycle biological sewage treatment installation provided with at least one receiving chamber disposed underneath and in fluid communication with a receptacle assembly installed underneath the opening of the pot for receiving sewages produced by a person using the toilet, and at least one return pipe for supplying the pot with recycled water,

Preferably said receptacle assembly comprises a rotating drum with at least one receptacle formed inside the drum, wherein radially external outlines of the receptacles correspond to the outline of the opening of the pot.

Preferably said closed cycle sewage treatment installation comprises a macerating pump in fluid communication with said at least one receiving chamber; a bioreactor tank in fluid communication with the macerating pump; a refining filter in fluid communication with the bioreactor tank; and a reservoir in fluid communication with said at least one return pipe.

The toilet according to the invention provides significant reduction of clean water consumption (to about 500 ml per use). More importantly however, the maceration process and treatment by micro filtration in a biological environment reduces by up to 85% the quantity of the organic load of the effluent that reaches the sanitary sewer system. The effluent is liquid, void of solids and features very low levels of contamination so that it may be discharged directly to oceans or rivers and even in backyards and gardens, not harming the environment. Liquid consistency of the effluent also enables to reduce the diameter of canalization output to 1 " as compared to traditional 4", which makes the toilet especially suited for regions devoid of sewer or public networks and/or for applications where installation of an auxiliary treatment system is impossible. Detailed description of preferred embodiment

A no-limiting, illustrative embodiment of the invention shall now be described with reference to the attached drawings on which:

Fig. 1 shows a basic perspective view of the external housing of the toilet;

Fig. 2 shows the top view of the toilet;

Fig. 3 shows a front cross-sectional view of the toilet before installation of the internal equipment and system devices;

Fig. 4 shows a side cross-sectional view of the toilet with the internal devices and equipment installed;

Fig. 5 shows an exploded perspective view of the rotating cylindrical receptacle assembly;

Figs. 6-9 illustrate the side cross-sectional views of the toilet in subsequent stages of operation;

Fig. 10 schematically illustrates a block scheme of the installation of the toilet;

Fig. 1 1 schematically illustrates a side cross-sectional view of a bioreactor tank of the toilet;

Fig. 12 schematically illustrates a side cross-sectional view of a refining filter of the toilet; and

Fig. 13 schematically illustrates a front cross-sectional view of the refining filter. As shown in Figs. 1 -4 a toilet 1 comprises a body 2, in this embodiment made of injected plastic, ceramic, or another material, inside of which a pot 3 is installed similarly as in conventional toilets. The bottom of the pot 3 is provided with an opening 4 underneath of which a cylindrical receptacle assembly 5 is installed.

The body 2 encompasses all the required equipment and system devices necessary for the operation of the toilet such as the receptacle assembly 5, a bioreactor tank 6, a fine-refining filter 7, and a reservoir 10.

The rotatable cylindrical receptacle assembly shown in Fig. 5 has a housing 51 provided with three rectangular openings 51 1 -513 inside of which a rotating drum 52 with three receptacles 521 -523 equidistantly disposed therein is rotationally installed with sealing rings 53 on a driving shaft connected with gearing box and an electrical motor (not shown) steered by the control unit. The receptacles 521 -523 have a substantially triangular prism shape and are provided with rectangular outlets 524 wherein the outlines of the housing openings 51 1 -513 correspond to the radially external outlines of the receptacles 521 -523. Rotational movement of the rotatable drum 52 is discrete so that it stops only in the angular positions in which outlets of the receptacles 521 -523 match the outlines of the housing openings 51 1 -513. The receptacles 521 -523 are made of or covered with a polished or low-friction material such as a Teflon coating.

The external diameter of the rotating drum 52 is substantially equal to the internal diameter of the housing 51 so that the external surface of the rotating drum 52 is in contact with the internal surface of the housing 51 . The first (top) opening 51 1 of the housing 51 overlaps with the bottom opening 4 of the pot 3. The second and the third bottom openings 512, 513 of the housing 51 form outputs of the first and second receiving chambers 81 , 82. In such manner the internal space of the pot 3, the first receiving chamber 81 and the second receiving chamber 82 are separated from each other by internal walls 525 of the rotating drum 52 defining receptacles 521 - 523. The rotating drum 52 thus constitutes a type of rotating cylinder substantially tightly separating receptacles 521-523 from each other within the housing 51 .

The receptacle assembly 5 performs the same function as a water seal in typical toilets disallowing gases and odours to return to the pot 3 and outside of the toilet 1 . The bottoms of the receiving chambers 81 , 82 have forms of trays 81 1 , 821 . As described later, fecal material and fecal material residues located in receptacles opened downward into receiving chambers are eluted by water delivered by jets 812, 822 into the receptacles and flow out off the trays 81 1 , 821 into a macerating pump 9, due to the suction generated by the macerating pump 9. The macerating pump 9 is a typical chopper pump as used in boat toilets and equipped with a cutting system to facilitate chopping/maceration of solids that are present in the pumped toilet waste, thus preventing clogging the piping of the toilet. In a result of a maceration process in the pump 9, fecal material is transformed as a substantially homogenous mass into the bioreactor tank 6. As shown in Fig. 1 1 inside the bioreactor tank 6 a maze of filaments 61 retaining all solid and pasty substances contained in the effluent flowing from the macerating pump 9. In the bioreactor tank 6 the secondary sewage treatment, that is removing dissolved and suspended biological matter, is performed continuously by indigenous, water-borne colonies of microorganisms inhabiting the tank and feeding the biological matter, so that through the outlet of the tank 6 only substantially liquid phase material flows further to the refining filter 7. Filaments 61 also prevent against forming preferential flow passages through the bioreactor tank 6, thus enabling for utilization of the whole tank capacity and providing uniform distribution of the trapped solid material within the volume of the tank.

The refining filter 7 shown in detail in Figs. 12 and 13 comprises an adsorption layer 71 of fine particle micronized activated carbon compressed between two concentrically arranged cylindrical pleated filter membranes 72, 73 and inhabited by colonies of microorganisms present on carbon particle surfaces. The refining filter 7 also performs the secondary sewage treatment of colloidal material or very fine solid particles which have succeeded to get across the maze of filaments 61 of the bioreactor tank 6. The structure of the filter 7 limits a velocity of the liquid phase effluent flowing therethrough thus increasing depositing of the residual impurities contained in the effluent from the tank 6, including molecules of urea, urine and toxins, so that after passing the filter 7 the effluent containing very low fraction of organic load flows further to the reservoir 10 for the recovered water. Alternatively, in order to make the construction of the toilet more compact, the refining filter 7 may be installed inside the reservoir 10.

Obviously the stream of the waste from the receiving chamber 81 through the maceration pump 9, the bioreactor tank 6 and the refining filter 7 to the reservoir 10 is provoked by a pressure action generated by the maceration pump 9. The bioreactor tank 6 and the refining filter 7 enable for removing of about 80-85% of the organic load contained in the homogenous mass provided by the maceration pump 9 and the liquid discharged from the filter 7 is recycled water that may be used to wash the receptacles 521 -523 of the rotating drum 52 and the pot 3 as described below.

As shown in Fig. 10 the reservoir 10 has two outputs. The first output of the reservoir 10 is connected with the inlet of the recycling pump 1 1 which supplies water to jet nozzles 812, 822, installed respectively in the first and second receiving chambers 81 , 82 and to the return pipe 31 having its end section bent and opened over the edge of the pot 3. The second output 101 of the reservoir 10 is connected to a canalization to which an excess of recycled water may be discharged through an overflowing pipe.

The toilet 1 further comprises an installation for supplying agents required for the toilet 1 operation such as lyophilized microorganisms, sterilizing agents and fragrances. Such an installation may comprise a water tank or water supply input 12 and at least one tank 13 of a given type of auxiliary agents connected respectively by valves 121 , 131 to the pipe 32 having its bent end section opened over the edge of the pot 3. Use of a single tank 13 for each type of auxiliary agent may be necessary if different agents should not be mixed together (e.g. mixture of microorganisms and sterilizing agent that might kill them).

Obviously the toilet may be provided with any appropriate installation for introducing into the bioreactor tank 6 and/or the refining filter 7 supplemental doses of microorganisms in a form of a lyophilized product, powder or liquid solution. Such installation should preferably be automatically controlled.

The toilet may be further provided with an installation for removing odours from the inside of the toilet housing 2, e.g. in a form of an exhaust pipe in the pot 3. When the toilet is in use the weight of the person sitting on the toilet might activate a button turning on the pump on the exhaust pipe that would suck all odours produced inside the pot 3 into the housing 2 where the toilet components are located. The exhaust pipe may direct all this air to an activated carbon filter (not shown) able to adsorb odours from the air flow, or be directed outside the room, where the toilet is located.

The preferred consecutive stages of an operation of the toilet 1 shall now be described with reference to Figs. 6-9. Fig. 6 shows the (initial) stage of the toilet 1 cycle in which the first receptacle 521 is opened into the pot 3 and after flushing and washing contains fecal material deposited on its bottom through the opening 4. Preferably fecal material is submerged within an initial dose of mixture comprising water in an amount of 500 ml and optional additives including sterilizing agents and fragrances supplied by the pipes 32 and 31 . ln the second stage of the toilet 1 cycle, illustrated in Fig.7, the drum 52 is rotated by 120° into a position in which the first receptacle 521 opens into the first receiving chamber 81 , the second receptacle 522 opens into the second receiving chamber 82 and the third receptacle 523 opens into the pot 3. In this position fecal material falls down from the receptacle 521 into the first receiving chamber under the influence of the gravity force and is additionally eluted by the recycled water sprayed by the jet nozzle 812 and the whole charge of the chamber 81 is sucked up by the maceration pump 9. Also the second receptacle 522 is rinsed by recycled water sprayed through the jet nozzle 822. The toilet pot 3 is during this stage flushed and pre-cleaned with recycled water delivered to the third receptacle 523 by the pipe 31 , while lyophilized microorganisms are dosed to the chamber 81 . This stage usually last from 7 to 15 seconds.

Subsequently the drum 52 is rotated by 120° into the third stage of the toilet 1 cycle shown in Fig. 8 of in which the first receptacle 521 opens into the second receiving chamber 82, the second receptacle 522 opens into the pot 3 and the third receptacle 523 opens into the first receiving chamber 81 . In this stage, fecal material residues remaining on the internal sides of the first receptacle 521 are eluted by recycled water sprayed by the jet nozzle 822 and flow down into the second receiving chamber 82 which in turn is emptied by the maceration pump 9. The third receptacle 523 is in a discharging stage while the second receptacle 522 is in a bowl washing stage.

The final fourth stage of the toilet 1 cycle shown in Fig. 9 takes place after further rotating the drum 52 by 120° and comprises washing the pot 3 and the prewashed receptacle 521 opens into the pot 3 with a mixture of clean water from the water supply 12 and optional additives including sterilizing agents and fragrances from the tank or tanks 13 in an amount of 500 ml and through the pipe 32. In this stage the second receptacle 522 is in a discharge stage and the third receptacle 523 is in a pre-washing stage.

In this stage the position of the first receptacle 521 is the same as before the first stage of the toilet 1 cycle shown in Fig. 6. In this state toilet is ready to be used by a person in need and receives fresh water from the water supply 12 with addition of sterilizing products and perfumes cleaning and sterilizing the bowl. Rotations of the receptacle assembly 5, activation of the pumps 9 and 1 1 and activation of the valves 121 and 131 are controlled and appropriately synchronized by a programmable microcontroller unit not shown on the drawing.

The object of this invention is not limited to the features described here, but to an ecological and programmable toilet and its sewage treatment system. The above disclosed embodiments of the present invention are therefore merely exemplary, figures are not necessarily to scale, and some features might have been exaggerated or minimized. These and other factors however should not be considered as limiting the spirit of the invention, the intended scope of protection of which is indicated in the appended claims.