Toilet apparatus and method of use

Abstract

A toilet apparatus has a waste material receiving bowl with an opening at a top of the waste material receiving bowl. A bag receives and retains waste material and an absorbent media introduced through the opening. An agitation device agitate the absorbent media and the waste material at a lower portion of the bag to cause the absorbent media to at least substantially cover the waste material while the agitation device is not contacting the absorbent media and the waste material.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A toilet apparatus comprising:
 a waste material receiving bowl with an opening at a top of the waste material receiving bowl;   a bag to receive and retain waste material and an absorbent media introduced through the opening; and   an agitation device to agitate the absorbent media and the waste material at a lower portion of the bag to cause the absorbent media to at least substantially cover the waste material while the agitation device is not contacting the absorbent media and the waste material.   
     
     
         2 . The toilet apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the lower portion of the bag comprises a bottom of the bag, and the agitation device comprises an electronic agitation device to agitate the absorbent media and the waste material at the bottom of the bag to cause the absorbent media to substantially encapsulate the waste material while not contacting the absorbent media and the waste material. 
     
     
         3 . The toilet apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the agitation device is below the bag, and the agitation device agitates the absorbent media and the waste material from below the bag to cause the absorbent media to at least substantially encapsulate the waste material while not contacting the absorbent media and the waste material. 
     
     
         4 . The toilet apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the agitation device is outside of the bag and agitates the absorbent media and the waste material at the lower portion of the bag to cause the absorbent media to at least substantially encapsulate the waste material while not contacting the absorbent media and the waste material. 
     
     
         5 . The toilet apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the agitation device comprises a motor to cause agitation of the absorbent media and the waste material and cause the absorbent media to at least substantially cover the waste material while the motor is not contacting the absorbent media and the waste material. 
     
     
         6 . The toilet apparatus of  claim 5 , further comprising at least one processor to control operation of the motor. 
     
     
         7 . The toilet apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the agitation device generates a mechanical vibration with a selected frequency. 
     
     
         8 . The toilet apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the agitation device comprises a vibrating mechanism that generates vibrational energy to the absorbent media and the waste material to agitate the absorbent media and the waste material in the bag. 
     
     
         9 . The toilet apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the agitation device comprises:
 a plurality of levers spaced along a periphery of a bottom of the waste material receiving bowl;   a disk including an eccentrically mounted cam; and   a motor to rotate the disk such that the cam alternatively lifts each lever for agitating the absorbent media and the waste material in the bag.   
     
     
         10 . The toilet apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the agitation device causes the waste material to be covered by the absorbent media. 
     
     
         11 . The toilet apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a lid that is selectively movable from a closed position adjacent the opening to an open position away from the opening. 
     
     
         12 . The toilet apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a hopper for holding the absorbent media. 
     
     
         13 . The toilet apparatus of  claim 12 , further comprising an auger to dispense the absorbent media to the bag from the hopper. 
     
     
         14 . The toilet apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a switch to turn on the agitation device. 
     
     
         15 . The toilet apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a housing to support the waste material receiving bowl. 
     
     
         16 . The toilet apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a vacuum generating device to generate a pressure vacuum via one or more holes formed in the waste material receiving bowl for urging the bag against an inner surface of the waste material receiving bowl. 
     
     
         17 . The toilet apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising an ultraviolet lamp to generate ultraviolet light in the waste material receiving bowl. 
     
     
         18 . The toilet apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the bag is releasably secured to the waste material receiving bowl. 
     
     
         19 . The toilet apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the opening defines an annular seating surface. 
     
     
         20 . The toilet apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a control circuit comprising at least one memory for storing instructions and at least one processor to execute the instructions to control operation of the toilet apparatus. 
     
     
         21 . The toilet apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising at least one processor to control the agitation device to agitate the absorbent media and the waste material to cause the absorbent media to at least substantially cover the waste material. 
     
     
         22 . The toilet apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 at least one memory for storing instructions; and   at least one processor to execute the instructions to:
 detect, using a lid position sensor, when a lid of the toilet apparatus is moved from a closed position to an open position; 
 detect, using a bag sensor, when the bag is placed in the waste material receiving bowl; and 
 control the agitation device to agitate the absorbent media and the waste material. 
   
     
     
         23 . The toilet apparatus of  claim 22 , wherein the at least one processor controls an absorbent media dispenser to dispense the absorbent media to the bag. 
     
     
         24 . A method for a toilet apparatus comprising:
 providing a waste material receiving bowl with an opening at a top of the waste material receiving bowl;   providing a bag to receive and retain waste material and an absorbent media introduced through the opening; and   agitating, using an agitation device, the absorbent media and the waste material at a lower portion of the bag to cause the absorbent media to at least substantially cover the waste material while the agitation device does not contact the absorbent media and the waste material.   
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the lower portion of the bag comprises a bottom of the bag, the agitation device comprises an electronic agitation device, and the method further comprises agitating the absorbent media and the waste material at the bottom of the bag using the electronic agitation device to cause the absorbent media to substantially encapsulate the waste material while not contacting the absorbent media and the waste material. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the agitation device is below the bag, and the method comprises agitating the absorbent media and the waste material from below the bag to cause the absorbent media to at least substantially encapsulate the waste material while not contacting the absorbent media and the waste material 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the agitation device is outside of the bag, and the method comprises agitating the absorbent media and the waste material using the agitation device outside the bag and at the lower portion of the bag to cause the absorbent media to at least substantially encapsulate the waste material while not contacting the absorbent media and the waste material. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the agitation device comprises a motor, and the method comprises using the motor to cause agitation of the absorbent media and the waste material and cause the absorbent media to at least substantially cover the waste material while the motor is not contacting the absorbent media and the waste material. 
     
     
         29 . The toilet apparatus of  claim 28 , further comprising using at least one processor to control operation of the motor. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the agitation device generates a mechanical vibration with a selected frequency. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising using a vibrating mechanism that generates vibrational energy to the absorbent media and the waste material to agitate the absorbent media and the waste material in the bag. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising providing the agitation device comprising:
 a plurality of levers spaced along a periphery of a bottom of the waste material receiving bowl;   a disk including an eccentrically mounted cam; and   a motor to rotate the disk such that the cam alternatively lifts each lever for agitating the absorbent media and the waste material in the bag.   
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising causing the waste material to be covered by the absorbent media. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising providing a lid that is selectively movable from a closed position adjacent the opening to an open position away from the opening. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising dispensing the absorbent media from a hopper holding the absorbent media to the bag. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising providing a switch to turn on the agitation device. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising providing a housing to support the waste material receiving bowl. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising generating a vacuum via one or more holes formed in the waste material receiving bowl for urging the bag against an inner surface of the waste material receiving bowl. 
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising generating an ultraviolet light in the waste material receiving bowl. 
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the bag is releasably secured to the waste material receiving bowl. 
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising executing instructions using at least one processor to control operation of the toilet apparatus. 
     
     
         41 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising controlling the agitation device with at least one processor to agitate the absorbent media and the waste material to cause the absorbent media to at least substantially cover the waste material. 
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising:
 detecting, using a lid position sensor, when a lid of the toilet apparatus is moved from a closed position to an open position;   detecting, using a bag sensor, when the bag is placed in the waste material receiving bowl; and   controlling the agitation device using at least one processor to agitate the absorbent media and the waste material.   
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 22 , further comprising controlling, using the at least one processor, an absorbent media dispenser to dispense the absorbent media to the bag. 
     
     
         44 . A toilet control system comprising:
 at least one memory for storing instructions; and   at least one processor to execute the instructions to:
 detect, using a lid position sensor, when a lid of a toilet is in an open position, the toilet comprising a waste material receiving bowl with an opening; 
 detect, using a bag sensor, when a bag is in the waste material receiving bowl; 
 control an absorbent media dispenser to dispense absorbent media into the bag when the lid is in the open position and the bag is in the waste material receiving bowl; and 
 control an electronic agitation device to agitate the absorbent media and the waste material at a lower portion of the bag while the agitation device is not contacting the absorbent media and the waste material. 
   
     
     
         45 . The toilet control system of  claim 44 , wherein the at least one processor further executes the instructions to control the agitation device to cause the waste material to be at least substantially covered by the absorbent media. 
     
     
         46 . The toilet control system of  claim 44 , wherein the at least one processor further executes the instructions to control a vacuum pump to generate a pressure vacuum via one or more holes formed in the waste material receiving bowl for urging the bag against an inner surface of the waste material receiving bowl. 
     
     
         47 . A toilet control method comprising:
 detecting, by at least one processor, when a lid of a toilet is in an open position, the toilet comprising a waste material receiving bowl with an opening;   detecting, by the at least one processor, when a bag is in the waste material receiving bowl;   controlling, by the at least one processor, an absorbent media dispenser to dispense absorbent media into the bag when the lid is in the open position and the bag is in the waste material receiving bowl; and   controlling, by the at least one processor, an agitation device to agitate an absorbent media and the waste material at a lower portion of the bag while the agitation device is not contacting the absorbent media and the waste material.   
     
     
         48 . The toilet control method of  claim 47 , further comprising controlling the agitation device to cause the waste material to be at least substantially covered by the absorbent media. 
     
     
         49 . The toilet control method of  claim 47 , further comprising controlling a vacuum pump to generate a pressure vacuum via one or more holes formed in the waste material receiving bowl for urging the bag against an inner surface of the waste material receiving bowl. 
     
     
         50 . A toilet apparatus comprising:
 a waste material receiving bowl with an opening;   a bag to receive waste material and an absorbent media introduced through the opening; and   an agitation device to agitate the absorbent media and the waste material at a bottom of the bag while not contacting the absorbent media and the waste material.   
     
     
         51 . The toilet apparatus of  claim 50 , wherein the agitation device comprises a vibration mechanism. 
     
     
         52 . The toilet apparatus of  claim 50 , further comprising at least one processor to control the agitation device.