Aircraft Lavatory Urinal
Embodiments of the present invention provide integration of aircraft urinals into vacuum waste systems of commercial aircraft. The urinals may either be rinse versions or waterless urinals.
1 . A urinal for use on-board an aircraft, comprising:
(a) a basin for collecting human liquid waste;
(b) an upper valve configured to open and close as desired in order to deliver the liquid to a collection reservoir;
(c) a collection reservoir for holding the liquid until a vacuum flush of the reservoir is activated; and
(d) a lower valve in fluid communication with an aircraft main waste tank, wherein when a vacuum flush of the reservoir is activated, the upper valve closes and the lower valve opens, delivering the liquid to the aircraft main waste tank.
2 . The urinal of claim 1 , wherein the urinal uses a water rinse and comprises a rinse assembly.
3 . The urinal of claim 1 , wherein the urinal is a waterless urinal.
4 . The urinal of claim 3 , wherein the waterless urinal further comprises a barrier cartridge for odor elimination.
5 . The urinal of claim 1 , further comprising a level sensing device.
6 . The urinal of claim 1 , wherein the upper valve comprises a reverse pinch valve.
7 . A method for saving space on-board an aircraft, comprising:
(a) providing a urinal-only lavatory, the urinal in the urinal-only lavatory comprising:
(i) a basin for collecting human liquid waste;
(ii) an upper valve configured to open and close as desired in order to deliver the liquid to a collection reservoir;
(iii) a collection reservoir for holding the liquid until a vacuum flush of the reservoir is activated; and
(iv) a lower valve in fluid communication with an aircraft main waste tank,
(b) wherein when a vacuum flush of the reservoir is activated, the upper valve closes and the lower valve opens, delivering the liquid to an aircraft main waste tank.