IMPROVEMENTS IN THE VENTILATION AND WATER SUPPLY OF BUILDINGS AND APARTMENTS
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Melville Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane,
in the County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE VENTILATION AND WATER SUPPLY OF BUILDINGS
AND APARTMENTS."-A communication from abroad by John Henry
Morrell, of the City, County, and State of New York, United States
of America.
Scaled the 4th January 1876, and dated the 28th October 1875.
1
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Melville
Clark at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 28th October 1875.
I, ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE VENTILATION AND WATER
to be as follows
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alexander Melville
Clark at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his
Petition, on the 28th October 1875.
I, ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE VENTILATION AND WATER
SUPPLY OF BUILDINGS AND APARTMENTS," to be as follows:
This Invention relates to new forms of water receptacles and new
arrangements of ventilating pipes, which are also to be used as

page_text: apartments.
The object of the Invention is to promote the more effective ventilation
of buildings, apartments, and the waterclosets and sewers thereby. per-
taining. A further object is to provide a more effective supply of water
and a better distribution thereof in and for buildings and apartments,
especially for watercloset purposes.
The Invention consists, firstly, in the employment of a water collector,
receiver, or chamber placed upon or in any suitable position under the
roof of the building, which water collector, receiver, or chamber is
furnished with distributing pipes, by which the water is conducted from
the said collector, receiver, or chamber to any part of the building, or
to any apartment where it is needed, such pipes being connected with
the traps of waterclosets or sewer pipes pertaining to the building or
apartments thereof, whereby the water will be caused to supply the said
traps, and also by its downflow to cleanse and purify the sewer pipes.
The said collector, receiver, or chamber and the conducting pipes
therewith connected are designed to have a free communication with
the exterior atmosphere at some convenient place at or near the roof
of the building, so that air and gases may rise through the same when
they are not occupied by water.
The Invention consists, secondly, in the ventilation of buildings and
apartments, and the waterclosets and sewers pertaining thereto through
the aforesaid collectors, receivers, chambers, and conducting pipes, the
arrangement thereof being such that when there is no downflow of
water therein all foul gases or bad air rising from said sewers and
waterclosets will have free vent, and escape through said conducting
pipes to the atmosphere above the roof of the building,
The Invention consists, thirdly, in the employment of one or more
divided or partitioned water chambers placed on or near the traps of
the waterclosets or sewer traps, said chambers being so formed that a
portion of the water which enters the same will pass by a suitable pipe
from said chamber into the trap, while another portion of the water
will, by means of another pipe from said chamber, be conducted to
another trap, sewer, or other receptacle in some other portion of the
building or apartment.

page_text: The Invention consists, fourthly, in the general arrangement of the
water collectors, receivers, chambers, conducting pipes, and divided or
partitioned water chambers and their pipes in such a manner that the
rain water falling upon the roofs of the buildings, or water from other
sources, will be caused to flow through, supply, cleanse, and purify the
waterclosets and sewers of buildings ad apartments, while at all times
when there is no down flow of water the aforesaid devices will scrve as
open escapes and ventilators for all bad air or gases arising in said
sowers or waterclosets.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alexander Melville Clark in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 1st February 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALEXANDER
MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lanc, in the County of Middlesex,
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of October, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in
the thirty-ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said Alexander Melville Clark,
Her special license that I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, my
exccutors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Alexander Melville Clark, 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 THE
VENTILATION AND WATER SUPPLY OF BUILDINGS AND APARTMENTS," a com-
munication to me from abroad by John Henry Morrell, of the City,
County, and State of New York, United States of America, upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Alexander Melville
Clark, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and scals, should parti-

page_text: The Invention consists, fourteenthly, in the employment of combined
or double pipes, ono within the other, or of partitioned pipes, substan-
tially as herein described.
The accompanying Drawings represent sectional elevations of the.
improvements, similar letters of reference indicating corresponding parts
in the various Figures.
Referring to Figure 1 A, A, are. floors of the building; B, the roof
thereof; C, a sewer pipe, which may rise from the sewer pipe in the
ground directly through the building, terminating above the roof with a
ventilating cap, as shown. In any suitable position I place a distributing
water receiver or reservoir D, which is to be supplied with water in any
convenient manner. In localities where rains are sufficiently frequent
the reservoir may be supplied with water taken from the roof or caves
troughs of the building, as shown in Figure 1. The reservoir D has a
suitable supply pipe E, and this may be carried to any suitable place on
and through the roof B, where the mouth of the pipe may be covered by
a grating a and cap b. A vertical dam a' attached to the roof will
collect the rain water, which will flow down through pipe E into the
reservoir D, which is provided with suitable distributing pipes G for
conducting the water to such parts of the building as may be needed.
One or more pipes H may be arranged as overflow pipes, and will
conduct off all water that rises above their orifices in the reservoir D.
Water collected in the reservoir below the orifices of H (see Figure 1)
is conducted by the other pipes G, as stated. The overflow water
carried by pipes H is intended to fill one or more of the watercloset
traps of the building, for which purpose the said pipe may communicate
directly with the top of the trap I, as in Figure 3, in which case the
water fills the trap and then flows down through the discharge pipe J to
the sewer or other place of discharge.
Instead of connecting the pipes H directly with the trap it may, as in
Figure 1, connect with a suitably located receiver K which contains a
partition so arranged that water entering from H will be divided, one
portion of the water being directed by a suitable orifice or pipe into
the watercloset traps I', and thence by pipes J' to the sewer pipe C,
while the other portion of the water will be conducted by a pipe H' to
another receiver K', to be thence divided and conducted to other traps

page_text: or other partitioned receivers, as may be required, in the manner sub-
stantially as above stated.
The foregoing arrangement of the reservoir D, conducting pipes H, H',
chambers K, K', traps and their discharge pipes J, J', is such that while
in addition to the storage of water in the reservoir D the traps or
adjuncts of waterclosets are cleansed by every downfall of water, while
at other times there is a clear upward exit and escape through the said
pipe, chambers, traps, and reservoir for bad gases that may rise from or
within said pipes, waterclosets, traps, or sewer pipes. The above
described improvements therefore embody the fourfold advantage of a
storage reservoir, a distributing reservoir for water, of a watercloset trap
supply and pipe cleaner, and of a ventilating apparatus.
The supply cleansing and ventilation of the traps and pipes is
automatic, being done whenever there is an overflow from reservoir D.
This is of advantage, especially when the building is unoccupied,
as the traps will be recharged automatically and thereby save the
expense of employing a person to enter the house periodically for such
purpose, and who through carelessness or oversight might omit one or
more traps, or possibly leave the house unlocked.
In the Drawing I have shown the main pipe C from the sewer or
drain running up through the roof of the building, but in some cases
the said pipe need not extend above the line of the trap on the upper
story of the building, as the ventilation may be completed through the
upper trap and pipe leading to the roof therefrom, and thereby save the
expense of the length of main pipe through the upper story. In some
cases when the pipes would be subject to extreme heat or cold I propose
to cover the same with a second pipe or sheathing.
Referring to Figure 2 I would observe that in some climates the
entrances or roof orifices to the reservoir D are liable to be obstructed
with snow or ice, in which case not only the water supply to said
reservoir would be cut off, but also the ventilation. To provide for a
supply of water under such circumstances I combine with the reservoir D
or with one of the reservoir pipes G an additional water supply pipe F
which is to be connected with a pump or other source of water supply,
3 by which the said reservoir D may be supplied with water whenever
needed. The said pipe F may be provided with a valve f to prevent
back flow of water or gas,

page_text: To provido for ventilation when the entrance orifice to reservoir D is
closed either purposely or by ice, I provide the upper part of the pipe E
with a register valve consisting of a fixed register plate g and a movable
register plate, in the centre of which but attached to g I place a short
ventilating pipe O which extends down within the interior of pipe E, as
shown; when desired I close the plate / so that no water can pass down
into the reservoir D, but whether the register be purposely closed, as
stated, or whether the water is prevented by ice or snow from entering
the reservoir, the pipe O will always afford free ventilation and escape
for all gases that rise in reservoir D.
To facilitate the ventilation of the pipes E, H, during the downflow
of water, and also the ventilation of the reservoir D, and also the
ventilation of other pipes and chambers herein mentioned, the said
pipe O may be extended down through the interior of the pipe E and
through the reservoir D; also through the pipe H, as indicated by the
dotted lines in Figure 2. At convenient points along its length as
at j, j, the said pipe O may have openings for the ingress of gas or air,
thus facilitating ventilation of the parts through which the pipe O
passes during the downflow of the water in said parts. The pipe O
may extend down through such of the other pipes and chambers herein
mentioned as may be desirable, and the lower end of said pipe O may
communicate at any convenient point with the sewer pipe or pipes of
the building so as to ventilate the same. The said pipe O may also com-
municate with the traps I, being carried within the pipe H, to such traps
as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 by the dotted lines. The said pipes O
and H may be also carried in any suitable manner one within the other
to the watercloset basin, so as to supply and ventilate the same as
illustrated in Figure 5, in which Figure J shows a watercloset basin
which may be of any desired form.
Instead of carrying the pipe O within the pipe H, as herein-before
described, it may be desirable in some cases to divide the pipe H by a
longitudinal partition m, as illustrated in Figure 4, so as practically to
make two pipes, one of which may be used for ventilation and the other
to conduct the water, substantially as described in connection with
pipes H, O. It is obvious that such a construction of pipe H would be
an equivalent or modification of the combined pipes H, O.
Figure 6 is an clevation showing the application of the doublo
pipes H, O, to other distributing pipes. The vertical pipes H, O, arc

page_text: 6th. The combination of the register valves g, h, with the reservoir D,
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
7th. The employment of a ventilating pipe within the water supply
pipe, or vice versa, so that ventilation will be effected during the down-
flow of water and at all times.
8th. The combination with the entrance pipe of a ventilating pipe O,
arranged and operated substantially as described.
9th. The construction of pipe H with a partition m, substantially as
described.
10th. The combination of the ventilating and supply pipes H, O, with
the traps, waterclosets, or urinals, substantially in the manner herein
described.
11th. The combination with the pipes H, O, of branch distributing
and ventilating pipes H¹, O', H", O", substantially as described.
12th. The combination with the distributing pipes H, H', H", or
cither of them, of dividing plates 1, substantially as herein described.
13th. The arrangement of the ventilating and water supply pipes H,
H³, H", 0, 0, 0", with the urinal K, substantially as described.
14th. In the water supply and ventilation of buildings and their
appurtenances, I claim the employment of combined or double pipes,
one within the other or of partitioned pipes, substantially as herein
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, have
hereunto set my hand and scal, this First day of February, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
six.