IMPROVEMENTS. IN FLUSHING APPARATUS FOR CLOSETS, SEWERS, AND OTHER WATER SERVICES
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Manwaring, of Southampton, in the County
of Hants, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS. IN FLUSHING
APPARATUS FOR CLOSETS, SEWERS, AND OTHER WATER SERVICES."
Sealed the 25th July 1862, and dated the 4th February 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Manwaring at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 4th
February 1862.
I, GEORGE MANWARING, of Southampton, in the County of Hants, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
FLUSHING APPARATUS FOR CLOSETS, SEWERS, AND OTHER WATER SERVICES," to
be as follows:-
My Invention relates to apparatus for regulating the supply of water to
water-closets, and also to apparatus for flushing sewers and for similar pur-
poses, and is intended, whilst it allows a sufficient supply, to check unnecessary
waste of water. To effect this object, I use a cistern or vessel having a small
admission or inlet valve and a large outlet valve, the former being near the top
and the latter in or near the bottom of the cistern. A vertical rod or spindle
(hereafter called the connecting rod) connects the outlet valve with a top lever
at the upper part of the cistern, which lever is capable of forcible depression
by a wire or other mechanical connection communicating with the seat of the

page_text: closet, or with a handle to be worked by hand; the depression closes the outlet
valve, and at the same instant a projection on the connecting rod allows a ball
lever which has been resting upon it to sink at the ball end and to rise at the
other end, which latter comes in contact with and opens the inlet valve, admit-
ting the water, until the top lever is again allowed to rise (in which case the
projection would raise the ball lever and permit the inlet to close,) or until the
accumulation of water raises the ball and causes the same effect. When the
wire or other connection is released, the top lever is raised to its former
position by means of a counterbalance weigh or weighted shaft, which closes
the inlet valve first, and then opens the outlet valve, and allows the escape of
the accumulated water for the flushing purposes. The cistern in the intervals
of its use has no water in, the supply to it taking place only during the use of
the closet or other forcible depression of the top lever. For connections
between the various levers, weigh shaft, connecting rod, valves, and cistern,
I use studs and hooks and centre joints, by which means the apparatus is put
together, without the use of screw pins, bolts, or rivets, which enables the
whole to be put together and taken apart by any ordinary mechanic with
facility.
It will be seen that the arrangement above described of connecting the top
lever by means of a rod with the outlet valve enables a direct pressure of any
required weight to be brought to bear upon the said outlet valve, insuring a
tight joint and preventing the possibility of leakage and waste, and that the
opening and closing of both valves is effected through the medium of the
connecting rod.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
,by the said George Manwaring in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
2nd August 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
MANWARING, of Southampton, in the County of Hants, Engineer to the
Southampton Local Board of Health, send greeting.
day of
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the
in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the
year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto him, the said
George Manwaring, Her special licence that he, the said George Manwaring,
his executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as he, the said George

page_text: Manwaring, his executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and 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 SUPPLYING
WATER FOR WATER-CLOSETS, FOR THE FLUSHING OF SEWERS,. DRAINS, AND FOR
GENERAL PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that he, the said
George Manwaring, his executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under his, 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.
T
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Manwaring, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed, that is
to say:-
My Invention consists of self-acting mechanical appliances, whereby the
closet is cleansed after the same has been used, by means of supplying water
through a cistern connected to and working with a small supply cock or inlet
valve, to which I apply an air vessel, by which means the supply valve can be
worked against any pressure with ease and soft action, the large outlet or
discharge valve from which is closed while the inlet valve is opened, and vice
versa.
The following is a description of one of the methods I adopt in carrying out
my Invention:-Water is admitted into a cistern through a supply cock or
valve fitted to the upper part of the cistern, to which I attach an internal
loaded floating ball, which gives power to the ball lever, sufficient to open
the valve against any pressure. This connecting lever to the valve is regu-
lated by a connecting rod having adjusting stops and pins in it, which causes a
proper pause of time in the action in the opening and shutting of the supply
and discharge valves, causing them to be worked with the greatest accuracy;
the lower end of this connecting rod is jointed to the discharge valve, in the
middle of the rod the lever of the floating ball works, and the upper end of
this rod is jointed to the working lever, which takes its fulcrum from the end
of the cistern at that part of this lever where it is attached to the connecting
rod; the under part of the joint is acted upon by a lifting arm on the weigh or
weighted shaft, which is provided with guides for the connecting rod; the

page_text: lifting arm raises the working lever, and the connecting rod by means of
the counterweight after the same has been kept down by the closet being
occupied, during which time the cistern is filling with water; by this motion
it causes the supply valve to close and the discharge valve to open.
The particular formation of the moving joints or bearings which I apply
avoids the necessity of bolts, screws, or joint pins, rendering the general appli-
cation simple, cheap, and durable, and the supply cistern cannot be effected by
the frost, it being only charged during the time the closet is occupied.
When the apparatus is applied to work self-acting, it is thus, the closet
seat may be hung on pivots or hinges, or otherwise, competent to allow the
same to decline about three-quarters of an inch. When the closet is occupied
by a person, it is thus kept down:-The connecting chain or wire from the
seat presses the end of the working lever down, which closes the discharge
valve and opens the supply valve, and allows the cistern to fill with water to
the required height; the ball then floats, which causes the supply valve to
shut; all then remains stationary until the person leaves the closet seat,
which then rises again to its original height by means of the spring or weighted
lever, and the counterweigh or weighted shaft then raises the working lever
and the connecting rod which opens the discharge valve, and the supply of
water in the cistern descends through the down pipe to the pan of the closet,
which flushes the soil away to the sewers.
My Invention may also be applied without being made to work self-acting,
that is to say, the chain or wire from the working lever may be worked by
hand, then the mechanical appliances in the cistern will work the same as
before mentioned.
My Invention will be found especially adapted to high-pressure, as all waste
of water will be effectually prevented and no leakage is likely to occur; it
may also be applied with low-pressure; the size of the cistern may be varied to
suit circumstances; I find, however, that one of the capacity of about one and
a half gallons is sufficient to supply an ordinary water-closet. In the Drawings
hereto annexed I have represented a cistern constructed and fitted with the
mechanical arrangements according to my
Invention.
Figure 1 is a section, shewing the cistern empty and the fittings in their
respective positions, the supply valve being closed and the discharge valve
open; Figure 2, a similar view, representing the cistern filling with water and
the fittings in their respective positions, the supply valve being open and the
discharge valve closed. Similar letters of reference indicate similar parts in
both Figures.
A is the cistern; B, B, the inlet or water supply valve to the cistern ; C, the

page_text: air vessel for the supply valve; D, D, the loaded floating ball and lever; E,
the connecting rod which regulates the working of the ball lever; the rod at
the top end is attached to the working lever G, and the lower end to the
discharge valve H, for the purpose of opening and shutting the same; F, F, F,
the weigh or weighted shaft, the working arm or lever of which passes through
the connecting rod E, near the top part thereof, for the purpose of guiding
the rod E and working against the under part of the joint of the working
lever G; G, G, G, the working lever, the fulcrum of which vibrates in a hole
at the end part of the cistern; H, the discharge valve; I, I, the brass seat of
the discharge valve with union joint to connect the discharge pipe; J, J, the
water line of the cistern when full; K, the connecting chain or wire from the
lever to the closet seat or from the lever for hand pull.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Manwaring, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Second day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
GEORGE MANWARING. (L.S.)
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the
before-named George Manwaring,
in the presence of
GEORGE BRIDGER,
Swathling, Southampton,
Clerk.