IMPROVEMENTS IN WATERCLOSETS. DRY CLOSETS. AND PRIVIES
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Aldridge, of the Town and County
of the Town of Southampton, Doctor of Medicine, for the Invention
of “IMPROVEMENTS IN WATERCLOSETS. DRY CLOSETS. AND PRIVIES."
Sealed the 7th March 1873, and dated the 24th October 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Aldridge
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 24th October 1872.
I, JOHN HENRY ALDRIDGE, of the Town and County of the Town of
Southampton, Doctor of Medicine, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN WATERCLOSETS, DRY CLOSETS, AND
PRIVIES," to be as follows:-
:-
The objects of my Invention are to ventilate waterclosets, earth, and
other dry closets, and privies, and to prevent noxious gases or foul odours
from escaping therefrom into the houses in which such closets or privies
are built. For these purposes I make the lid of the closet or privy fit
air-tight upon the seat thereof, and I apply to the said lid either at the
upper or under side thereof a pipe, one end of which is or may be

page_text: enlarged, so as to collect the gases arising from the said closet or privy.
The other end of the said pipe is connected by a hinged joint or cock at
the hinge of the said lid to another pipe leading into the open air, the
said joint being so constructed as to shut off the communication between
the aforesaid pipes when the lid of the closet or privy is open, and to
open such communication when the said lid is shut down. By this
arrangement any foul gases arising from the privy or closet, or from the
sewer with which such closet is connected, are collected and discharged
into the open air by the pipes aforesaid. When the pipe herein first
referred to is affixed. to the upper side of the lid a hole is made through
the said lid, and the expanded mouth of the pipe is inserted therein.
When the said pipe is affixed to the under side of the said lid a groove
or channel is cut in the said lid to receive the said pipe, the end of which
in this case need not be expanded.
In order to make the lid fit air-tight on the seat, I bevil the edge of
the hole in the said seat, and make on the under side of the said lid a
bevilled rim of a shape corresponding to that of the said hole, and around
this rim I affix an india-rubber ring, by preference tubular, and filled
with water or air, so as to form an air-tight packing between the said
rim and edge.
When my Invention is applied to a watercloset, I so arrange the
handle by means of which the contents of the pan are discharged, and
the said pan is refilled with water as to prevent the said handle from
being raised until the lid is shut down, and thus prevent noxious gases
from escaping from the sewer into the house.
According to one arrangement for this purpose, I place the said handle
behind the lid and connect the said handle by levers to the other
mechanism for raising the plug. When the lid is open it prevents
access to the handle.
According to another arrangement the handle may be mounted at the
side of the lid, and be prevented from being raised when the said lid is
open by means of a wedge or bolt affixed to one end of a lever, the other
end of which is depressed by the said lid when the latter is shut down,
so that the closing of the said lid leaves the handle free.
According to another arrangement, the handle may lie in a cavity or
box at the side of the closet lid, such cavity being closed by a small
hinged lid when the closet lid is open.
This small lid has at its hinged

page_text: part a lug or projection, which being acted upon by the closet lid when
the latter is shut down, raises the said lid and thus gives access to the
handle.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Henry Aldridge in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 23rd April 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY ALDRIDGE, of the Town and County of the Town of Southampton,
Doctor of Medicine, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of October, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty.
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said John Henry Aldridge, Her special
license that I, the said John Henry Aldridge, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Henry Aldridge,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN WATERCLOSETS, DRY CLOSETS, AND PRIVIES," upon the con-
dition (amongst others) that I, the said John Henry Aldridge, my
executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great
Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Henry Aldridge, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
The objects of my Invention are to ventilate waterclosets, earth,
and other dry closets (either portable or fixed), and privies, and to

page_text: prevent noxious gases or foul odours from escaping therefrom into the
houses in which such closets or privies are built or used. For these
purposes I make the lid of the closet or privy fit air-tight upon the seat
thereof, and I apply to the said lid either at the upper or under side
thereof a pipe, one end of which is or may be enlarged, or communicate
with an inverted shallow pan let into the lid, so as to collect the gases
arising from the said closet or privy. The other end of the said pipe is
connected by a hinge, or valve joint, or cock at the hinge border of the
said lid to another pipe leading into the open air, or if more convenient,
into a flue of the house, the said joint being so constructed as to shut off
the communication between the aforesaid pipes when the lid of the
closet or privy is open, and to open such communication when the said
lid is shut down. By this arrangement any foul gases arising from the
privy or closet, or from the sewer with which such closet is connected,
are collected and discharged into the open air or into a flue or chimney
by the pipes aforesaid. When the pipe herein first referred to is affixed
to the upper side of the lid, a hole is made through the said lid, and the
expanded mouth of the pipe is inserted therein. When the said pipe is
affixed. to the under side of the said lid, a groove or channel is cut in
the said lid to receive the said pipe, the end of which in this case need
not be expanded.
In order to make the lid fit air-tight on the seat I affix to the under
side of the said lid an india-rubber ring or pad. Any other kind of
pad or packing may however be applied between the lid and seat.
When my Invention is applied to a watercloset I apply to the pull
handle, by means of which the contents of the pan are discharged and
the said pan is replenished with water, mechanism or apparatus to
prevent the said handle from being raised until the lid is shut down,
and thus prevent noxious gases from escaping from the sewer into the
house. This mechanism consists essentially of a hinged or sliding lid,
by which the cavity or recess in the seat within which the pull handle
is situated is closed as required, the said lid being connected by means
of a rack and pinion arrangement, or of a connecting rod, or of a lever
and connecting rods to an arm affixed to the lid of the closet, by which
arm the mechanism is worked.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to
describe the manner in which the same is to be performed. reference

page_text: being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the figures and letters
marked thereon, the same letters of reference indicating the same parts
in all the Figures.
Figures 1 and 2 represent in vertical section a watercloset, to which
my Invention is applied, the lid of the said closet being represented open
in Figure 1, and closed in Figure 2. Figure 3 is a front elevation of
the lid and seat of the said closet, the said lid being represented open.
A is the pan of the closet which is made to fit air-tight against the
seat B, either by means of india-rubber, or other packing, or of
cement. C is the lid; D is the outer wall of the house in which the
said closet is built; E is a pipe passing from the external atmosphere
to the hinge or valve joint e¹, e2, which said joint is represented separately
in full size in front elevation in Figure 4, back elevation in Figure 5,
side elevation in Figure 6, and vertical section in Figure 7. This joint
is made in two parts. The part e¹ is connected to the pipe E, as afore-
said. The ribs e', e, on the part e¹, work in the grooves e³, e³, in the
part e², which has a flat pipe e* which opens into the shallow pan c¹ let
into the lid C, to collect the vapours arising from the pan A, which pipe
when the said lid is shut down, as represented in Figure 2, coincides
with an opening es in the part e¹, and thereby allows the gases from the
pan A to escape through the joint e¹, e³, to the pipe E, and thence to the
external atmosphere, as represented by the arrows.
When the lid C is open, as represented at Figure 1, the communi-
cation between the pipes E and e* is cut off; e, e, are lugs by which
the part e¹ is affixed to the back of the closet; c³ is a ring or pad of
india-rubber, which is affixed to the under side of the lid C, either by
the flange c³ of the pan c³, or by nails or cement, or in any other suitable
way, and when the lid is shut down prevents any gases from escaping
between the said lid and the seat. Although I prefer india-rubber for
this purpose, any other kind of pad or packing may be applied between
the lid and seat. Where the lid is not sufficiently heavy to insure an
air-tight closure, it may be held down by a snap bolt.
Figures 8 and 9 are vertical longitudinal sections of a suitable snap
bolt, and the parts in connection therewith; F is a flush ring, by which
the lid C is raised, which ring turns on the pin ƒº¹ and has a cam ƒ³ which
when the said ring is raised pushes back the snap bolt f³, as represented.
in Figure 9, and thereby disengages it from under the plate f' affixed to

page_text: the seat B. When the lid C is shut down the snap bolt f³ is forced
forward by the spring f, and thus caused to engage under the plate ƒ*,
as represented in Figure 8.
Figures 10 to 19 (both inclusive) represent various arrangements of
mechanism for preventing access to the pull handle of a watercloset
until the lid of the said closet is closed.
Figures 10 and 11 represent in side elevation one of these arrange-
ments applied to a watercloset, the lid of the said closet being shown
open in Figure 10, and closed in Figure 11. An opening c² is made in
the lid C, through which access is gained to the pull handle G, by which
the contents of the pan are discharged, which said handle lies within a
corresponding opening or recess 6' in the seat B, which opening when
the lid C is raised, is closed by a lid 62. This lid is jointed to the seat
at 63, and is worked as required by means of an arm b', which is jointed
to a rack H¹, which engages with a pinion h¹ which is driven by
another rack H³, which is connected by a bar h² to an arm c³ affixed to
the lid.C; h³, h³, are guides in which the racks H', H2, slide. The action
of this mechanism is as follows:-When the lid C is raised, the lid 6° is
shut down, as represented in Figure 10, and the handle G is prevented.
from being raised, but when the said lid C is shut down, the said lid 6*
is raised, as represented in Figure 11, so as to give access to the said
handle.
.
Figures 12 and 13 represent in side elevation another of the aforesaid
arrangements applied to a watercloset, the lid of which is shown open in
Figure 12, and closed in Figure 13. This arrangement is shown in
Figure 3. The opening 6' is closed by a shutter 6 sliding in guides 6*
fixed in a recess cut in the seat B. This shutter is worked from the
arm c³ through the connecting rod I, one end of which is jointed to the
said shutter, the other end carrying an adjustable block 2, which is
pivotted to the adjustable block on the arm c³, these blocks being fixed
in any required position by means of set screws i³, 2³.
Instead of jointing the arm ca to the rod I, as herein-before described,
the said arm and rod may be jointed together by means of a screw
bolt, passing through holes c, ³, in the said arm and rod respectively,
as represented in side elevation in Figure 14, and in front elevation in
Figure 15. Either of these arrangements allows of the adjustment of
the blocks, so as to give the necessary traverse to the shutter b³.

page_text: Figures 16 and 17 represent in side elevation another of the aforesaid
arrangements of mechanism, applied to a watercloset, and Figures 18
and 19 are plans of the under side of the same, Figures 16 and 18
representing the parts in the positions which they assume, when the lid C
is shut down, and Figures 17 and 19 representing the said parts in the
positions which they assume when the said lid is open. In this arrange-
ment the arm * of the hinged lid 6* is connected by a bar j¹ to one end.
of a lever J, which turns on a fulcrum *, and has at its other end a
slot which receives a pin ¹ carried by a bar K which slides in a
groove b' in the under side of the seat B, and is pushed forward by the
arm when the lid C is raised, when the lever J, and the parts in
connection therewith, assume the positions represented in Figures 17
and 19, and thereby close the lid 62; when the lid C is shut down a
spring j, acting on the lever J, brings it and the parts in connection
with it, into the positions represented in Figures 16 and 18, and thereby
raises the lid 6*.
Instead of fixing the pipe through which the gases escape from the
pan A under the lid C, the said pipe may be affixed to the upper side of
the said lid, as represented in Figure 20, which is a vertical section of
part of a watercloset, to which my Invention is thus applied. In this
arrangement the pipe L, formed with a flanged and expanded part 1, is
connected to the valve joint e¹, e, and the expanded part is screwed
through its flange cover a hole c cut in the lid C.
Where the closet is situated at some distance from an outer wall; the
pipe E must be made of sufficient length to extend from the said closet
to and through such outer wall.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I
do not limit myself to the precise details herein-before described, as the
same may be varied without departing from the nature of my Invention,
but I claim as my Invention,-
Firstly. The improvements in waterclosets, dry closets, and privies,
herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
and 20 of the accompanying Drawings, that is to say:-Making the lid
of the closet or privy fit air-tight on the seat, and applying to the said
lid jointed pipes for ventilating the said closet or privy, essentially as
describéd.

page_text: The appicat
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the lid of the closet, essentially as herein-before described and illustrated
in Figures 10 to 19 (both inclusive) of the accompanying Drawings, so
that the pull handle, by means of which the contents of the pan are
discharged, shall be accessible only when the lid of the said closet is
closed.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Aldridge, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of April, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.
Witness,
W. B. RANDALL, J.P.,
Southampton.
JOHN HENRY ALDRIDGE. (L.S.)