Portable waste transfer tank
View Patent ↗A includes a main body portion defining a waste holding chamber, a vent path extending from the waste holding chamber to atmosphere, and a float member. The float member is coupled to the tank for movement between a first position and a second position. The float member is movable from the first position to the second position in response to an increase in fluid level within the storage chamber. The vent passage remains open for venting the storage chamber when the float member is in the first position and is blocks the vent passage in the second position.
1. A vent assembly comprising:
a base portion coupled to a tank, the base portion defining a vent passage in fluid communication with a storage chamber of the tank;
a float member coupled to the base portion for movement relative to the base portion between a first position and a second position, the float member movable from the first position to the second position in response to an increase in fluid level within the storage chamber, the float member closer to the base portion in the second position than in the first position the float member includes a flat upper surface abutting the base portion in the second position to seal the vent passage;
a cap releasably securable to the base portion such that the cap operates to close the vent passage when secured to the base portion, the cap removable from the base portion independent from the float member; and
a shaft received in a channel defined by the base portion, the shaft completely through the base portion, the channel separate from the vent passage, the float member secured to the shaft;
wherein the vent passage remains open for venting the storage chamber when the float member is in the first position and wherein the float member seals the base portion in the second position to prevent fluid communication between the storage chamber and the atmosphere through the vent passage.
2. The vent assembly of claim 1 , wherein the float member is linearly movable between the first position and the second position.
3. The vent assembly of claim 1 , wherein the float member circumferentially surrounds the shaft.
4. The vent assembly of claim 3 , wherein the shaft includes an enlarged head, the head having a diameter greater than a diameter of the channel.
5. The vent assembly of claim 1 , wherein the float member is positioned adjacent to the base portion in the second position.
6. The vent assembly of claim 1 , wherein the cap blocks the vent passage in both the first and second positions of the float member.
7. A vent and level indicator assembly comprising:
a base portion coupled to a tank, defining a vent passage in fluid communication with a storage chamber of the tank, and an externally threaded cylindrical flange defining a cylindrical opening separate from the vent passage;
a level indicator coupled to the base portion and movable through the cylindrical opening between a first position and a second position, the level indicator operative to provide a visual indicator that the storage chamber of the tank is substantially full when in the second position, the level indicator including an elongated shaft;
a float member coupled to the elongated shaft of the level indicator for movement with the level indicator such that an increased fluid level in the storage chamber moves the level indicator from the first position to the second position, the float member sealing the base portion when the level indicator is in the second position to prevent fluid communication between the storage chamber and the atmosphere through the vent passage, the float member includes a flat upper surface abutting the base portion in the second position to seal the vent passage; and
a cap threadable to the cylindrical flange, the cap removable from the base portion independent from the level indicator.
8. The vent and level indicator assembly of claim 7 , wherein the cylindrical flange extends away from the float member, and wherein the level indicator remains inside the cylindrical flange in the first position.
9. The vent and level indicator assembly of claim 8 , wherein the float member is positioned adjacent to the base portion when the level indicator is in the second position.
10. The vent and level indicator assembly of claim 8 , wherein the level indicator is manually displaceable from the second position to the first position.
11. The vent and level indicator assembly of claim 8 , the level indicator having a head with a diameter greater than a diameter for the cylindrical opening.
12. The vent and level indicator assembly of claim 8 , wherein the cap closes the vent passage when threadably engaged to the cylindrical flange.
13. The vent and level indicator assembly of claim 7 , wherein the level indicator includes a reduced diameter portion, the float member carried by the reduced diameter portion.
14. A portable waste transfer tank comprising:
a main body portion defining a sanitation waste holding chamber;
a base portion secured to the tank, the base portion defining a channel;
a vent passage extending through the base portion from the waste holding chamber to the atmosphere;
a level indicator including a shaft, the shaft extending through the channel;
a float member coupled to the tank for movement between a first position and a second position, the float member movable from the first position to the second position in response to an increase in fluid level within the storage chamber, the float member coupled to the shaft for movement therewith, the float member includes a flat upper surface abutting the base portion in the second position to seal the vent passage; and
a cap releasably securable to the base portion such that the cap operates to close the vent passage when secured to the base portion, the cap removable from the base portion independent from the float member;
wherein the vent passage remains open for venting the storage chamber when the float member is in the first position and wherein the float member seals the vent passage in the second position to prevent fluid communication between the waste holding chamber and the atmosphere.
15. The portable waste transfer tank of claim 14 , wherein the level indicator includes an upper end having a head, the head having a greater diameter than the channel.
16. The portable waste transfer tank of claim 14 , further comprising a vent body carried by the main body portion of the tank, the vent body defining the vent passage.
17. The vent portable waste transfer tank of claim 16 , wherein the vent body further defines the channel separate from the vent passage and wherein the float member carried proximate a lower end of the shaft member.
18. The portable waste transfer tank of claim 17 , in combination with a fill tube attached to an inlet of the tank, the shaft member being downwardly displaceable to displace the float member from the second position and open the vent passage to remove fluid from the fill tube.