IMPROVEMENTS IN DRY CLOSETS AND COMMODES:
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Atkinson Pollock and Julius Frederick
Moore Pollock, both of Leeds, in the County of York, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN DRY CLOSETS AND COMMODES:"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Alfred Atkinson
Pollock and Julius Frederick Moore Pollock at the Office of the
Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the 26th May
1871.
We, ALFRED ATKINSON POLLOCK and JULIUS FREDERICK MOORE
POLLOCK, both of Leeds, in the County of York, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN DRY CLOSETS AND
COMMODES," to be as follows:-
Our Invention relates to improvements in dry closets and commodes
of that class in which charcoal, dry earth, or other disinfectants of a
solid or granular nature are used for the absorption and deodorization
of liquid and solid excreta, preferring to use those kinds of charcoal
which are known respectively as sea-weed charcoal" and "× charcoal,"
or charcoal obtained from the burning of excreta.
"

page_text: Our improvements in dry closets and commodes refer to those parts
which form the media for the deposit and deodorization of excreta,
whether they be placed over a cesspool or in direct connexion with a
bucket or other receptacle forming a part of the dry closet or commodo
or of its appurtenances, and such improvements relate more especially 5
to the means employed for delivering and measuring the charcoal or
other dry material used for deodorizing the deposits.
According to this part of our Invention we construct the dry closet
or commode in such manner that a measured charge of charcoal or
other suitable material is by the action of the apparatus taken from the 1
cistern or receptacle wherein it is stored and being moved forward over
the exact spot where the deodorant is required, that is, above where
the excreta have fallen, is there caused to drop, thereby ensuring the
proper delivery in the right place of the necessary quantity of deodo
rizing material and avoiding the waste and uncertainty incident to all 1
systems of "chucking" or throwing the dry material forward by springs,
balance weights, or otherwise, as heretofore usually practised.
Our Invention allows also of the efficient use of the deodorant in the
form of fine powder, while all systems in which the deodorant has to
be "chucked or thrown forward necessitate that the separate particles 20
of the material used shall possess some appreciable weight.
"
The apparatus we prefer to use in carrying out this part of our
Invention consists of a sliding charger placed at the base of the cistern
or receptacle for containing the supply of deodorizing material, which
is situate by preferenco behind and above the level of the scat. This 2
charger is provided with an orifice for the reception of the deodorant,
and with a moveable plate or slide at its under portion to retain the
charge of deodorant in the orifice. When the charge of deodorant has
to be delivered, the sliding charger is brought forward till its orifico is
over the spot on which have fallen tho excreta to be deodorized, a catch 30
then comes in contact with a pin or other projection on the moveable
plate or slide forming the bottom of the charger, which continuing its
onward movement without the said plate, the contents are allowed to
fall over the spot where they are required. When the charger returns
the moveable plate or slido is arranged by means of a spring so as to 38
resume its former position, and the noxt chargo is thus held in readiness
for the next operation.

page_text: Instead of arranging the charger with a sliding bottom as described
above it may also be made so as to turn over when it arrives at the
right spot, or it may be provided with a hinged bottom, which opening
downwards at the right moment ensures the delivery of the deodorant.
on the right spot without depending on rapidity of action or other co-.
operation on the part of the operator. The charger may be actuated by
self-acting means, as, for instance, by arranging that the seat shall
descend with the weight of the individual in such manner as to cause
a catch connected with an arm projecting downwards from the seat to
lay hold of a pin or other suitable projection in connexion with a lever
or levers on a rocking shaft, the said levers being connected at their
upper ends with the sliding charger, so that when the person rises the
seat will be brought back to its former position by the action of a
spring or weight, bringing with it the charger until its charge has been
delivered, when the catch will be withdrawn from its connection with
the levers, and these latter will spring back to their former position

page_text: We do not confine ourselves to using the seat as a self-acting
medium, as motion may be obtained producing the same effect from
the opening and shutting of a door, or from treading on a stop or
otherwise; but for a self-acting medium we prefer a combination of the
seat and step, these two being connected and acting together, whereby
wo ensure proper action, even if the individual using the apparatus fails
to sit down.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Alfred Atkinson Pollock and Julius Frederick
Moore Pollock in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 24th 1
November 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we,. ALFRED
ATKINSON POLLOCK and JULIUS FREDERICK MOORE POLLOCK, both of
Leeds, in the County of York, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of May, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, in the thirty-
fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said Alfred Atkinson Pollock and Julius
Frederick Moore Pollock, Her special licence that we, the said Alfred 2
Atkinson Pollock and Julius Frederick Moore Pollock, our executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said Alfred
Atkinson Pollock aud Julius Frederick Moore Pollock, our 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
DAY CLOSETS AND COMMODES," upon the condition (amongst others) that
we, the said Alfred Atkinson Pollock and Julius Frederick Moore
Pollock, our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under our, or their hands and scals, or under the hand and scal of one
of us or them, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of
the said Invention, and in what manner the samo was to be performed,
and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six

page_text: calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Alfred Atkinson Pollock, on behalf
of myself and the said Julius Frederick Moore Pollock, 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, reference being had to the accom-
panying Sheets of Drawings which form portions of this Specification,
and in which the same letters of reference are used to denote correspond-
ing parts in cach of the several views :-
Our Invention relates to improvements in dry closets and commodes
of that class in which charcoal, dry carth, or other disinfectants of a
solid or granular nature are used for the absorption and deodorization of
Liquid and solid excreta, preferring to use those kinds of charcoal which
are known respectively as "sca-weed charcoal" and "× charcoal,” or
charcoal obtained from the burning of excreta.
Our improvements in dry closets and commodes refer to those parts
which form the media for the deposit and deodorization of excreta,
whether they be placed over a cesspool or in direct connection with a
bucket or other receptacle forming a part of the dry closet or commode
or of its appurtenances, and such improvements relate more especially to
the means employed for delivering and measuring the charcoal or other
dry material used for deodorizing the deposits.
c
According to our Invention we construct the dry closet or commode
in such manner that a measured charge of charcoal or other suitable
material is by the action of the apparatus taken from the cistern or
receptacle wherein it is stored and being moved forward over the exact
spot where the deodorant is required, that is, above where the excreta
have fallen, is there caused to drop, thereby ensuring the proper delivery
in the right place of the necessary quantity of deodorizing material
and avoiding the waste and uncertainty incident to all systems of
"chucking" or throwing the dry material forward by springs, balance
weights, or otherwise, as heretofore usually practised.
"
Our Invention allows also of the efficent use of the deodorant in
the form of fine powder, while all systems in which the deodorant has
to be "chucked' or thrown forward necessitate that the separate
particles of the material used shall possess some appreciable weight and
sizc.

page_text: Figure 1 (Sheet 1) is a side clevation of a dry closet or commode
constructed according to our Invention, in which the weight of the
operator on the seat is made to actuate the mechanism; Figure 2 is
a similar view of a modification in which the mechanism is actuated by
the pulling up of a handle, as in an ordinary watercloset; Figure 3 1
(Sheet 2) is a side elevation partly in section (full size) of the mechanism
employed for delivering and measuring the charcoal or other dry
material for deodorizing the deposits as arranged to be actuated by
the seat; Figure 4 (Sheet 3) is a front view of the same mechanism
Figure 5 (Sheet 4) is a plan thereof; Figure 6 (Sheet 5) is a plan of a 1
modification in which the charger is actuated by means of a chain
and pullies; and Figure 7 is an elevation of the same.
The charger a of the apparatus is (when the parts are at rest) situated
at the base of the cistern or receptacle b which contains the supply of
deodorizing material. In the arrangement shown in Figures 1, 3, 4, and
5 the charger is carried by an arm a' having a shaft or spindle which
works in bearings A' formed with or attached to the main body A of the
mechanism, and the upper end of the shaft carries a cross piece a*.
The cistern or receptacle is situated behind and above the level of
the seat c. The charger a is provided with an orifice a³ and a moveable
plate or slide dat its under portion to retain the charge of deodorant,
which plate or slide is carried by a radial arm or lever having its
fulcrum at d³, and formed with a short arm ď³ connected to the arm a¹ of
the charger by means of a spiral spring e. The charger is brought
forward when required by the action of a weighted lever f pivotted to:
the main body A at. The longer arm of this lever carries a weightƒ³;
its arm takes into a recess or slot in a sliding bar g, and another
arm is united by a connecting rod to the scat c, as shewn. The
bar g works in a guide formed with or attached to the body A, and is
provided with a projecting part or stop g' and a jointed arm or pawl g³ ;
jointed to it at g³. The end of the arm g³ is provided with a pin or
projection g' which works in a groove or recess A³ formed in the body A,
and in this recess is pivotted a double detent h, the end of whose arm h¹
is kept against the side A* of the recess A³ by means of a spring i.
In the position of the parts as shewn in Figures 3, 4, and 5 the charger
a is situated beneath the receptacle 6, and the front edge of the seat o is
Haised somewhat above the horizontal line, the weight * being at its
lowest point. It will bo obvious that the weight of any person sitting

page_text: on the seat c by counterbalancing the weight f" will cause the seat to
assume a horizontal position. This action draws forward the sliding
bar g, bringing with it the arm g³, the projection g³ of which is kept
clear of the cross piece a* by means of the detent h, which owing to
the end of its arm h' being kept against the side A* of the recess A³, as
already described, forms an inclined plane against which the pin *
works, thus causing the end of the arm g² to move outward clear of the
cross piece a* until during its continued movement it is guided inward
by the inclined outer side A³ of the recess A' in readiness for its return
movement herein-after described. When the charge of deodorant has
to be delivered when the person rises the charger is brought forward
by the weight fƒ³, which actuating the lever f moves the sliding bar g
back until the pin or projection 9' comes in contact with the inner side
of the arm ³ of the detent h which guides the arm g' so as to bring its
projection g' against the end or pallet a³ of the cross piece a*, whereupon
the continued movement of the sliding bar g, consequent upon tho
falling of the weight fa, causes the charger a and its plate or slide & to
be moved forward until the short arm d³ of the lever & comes in contact
with the catch or stop k attached to the bearing piece A¹, and thereupon
the movement of the plate or slide d is arrested, and the charger a
continues its forward movement alone, thus gradually opening its bottom
for the escape of the deodorant on to the excreta until the pin or pro-
jection g' has passed between the side A* of the recess A' and the
extreme end of the arm ' of the lever h, whereupon the projecting part
or stop g' of the sliding bar g comes in contact with the end or pallet a*
of the cross piece a*, and the charger and its plate or slide d are caused
to resume their original positions under the receptacle b.
It will be observed that the to-and-fro action of the shaft or spindle
and the projections or pallets a³ and a* somewhat resembles the verge
action of a watch.
In the arrangement shown in Figure 2 the arm f* and connecting rod
fare dispensed with, and in licu thereof a connecting rod ƒ provided
with a handle f" resembling that of an ordinary watercloset is jointed
to the lever fas shewn, and the mechanism is actuated by raising the
handle f and allowing it to fall; is the lid of the commode.
In the closet shewn in Figures 1, 3, 4, and 5 the seat is carried by a
horizontal shaft m, having radial arms m¹ welded to it, and these arms
m' are attached to the opposite sides of the seat c, and carry the same

page_text: in such manner as to ensure rigidity without duplication of the con-
necting rod and other mechanism; " is the receptacle for the excreta.
It is arranged to slide out either at the front or back or sides of tho
commode, which is provided with suitable doors for that purpose; o is
the earthenware or other guard for guiding urine into the receptacle n.
The plate of the charger moves with it and serves to prevent the
escape of deodorant from the cistern b, while the charger is in its forward
position.
In the arrangement shown in Figures 6 and 7 on Sheet 5 the apparatus
is worked by a plug or handle which actuates a chain passing under
a pulley, and once round a pulley, from whence the said chain
passes over another pulley ", and at its lower end is attached to the
weight. The pulley " is capable of rotating on a stud p which
also carries at its upper end a disc 7 capable of rotating only in onc
direction on the stud, being prevented from moving in the contrary
direction by means of a pawl taking into a notch q' in the periphery
of the disc. A second pawls attached to and rotating with the pulley
by means
in falling
takes into the same notch q', so that when the pulley f" is rotating
in the direction indicated by the arrow it carries the disc 9 along with
it. A pin carrying an antifriction roller is fixed on the face of the
disc q, and moves in a slot in the arm a' of the charger a, which is
supplied with a moveable plate or slide d as in the arrangements pre-
viously described. On pulling the handle the pulley is caused to
make a complete revolution, thereby raising the weight
of the chain. The handle being released the weight
causes the pulley ✓" to revolve in the direction indicated by the arrow,
and by the action of the pawl & taking into, the notch q', the disc is
caused to make one complete revolution with the pulley", thereby
(through the medium of the pin working in its slot) causing the
charger a to move to and fro, and while in its most forward position
(indicated by dotted lines) to deposit its contents on to the excreta in
the manner herein-before described with reference to other Figures.
The same arrangement may obviously be made self-acting, the chain f
being actuated by a bell-crank lever from a moveablo scat, as already
specified with reference to Figures 3 and 4.
It will also be evident that by reversing the arrangement of the
apparatus the reciprocation of the charger may be effected by the action
of the handle or scat, and the weight being in the opposite position to

page_text: that shewn in the Drawing will then merely have to replace the parts
in their proper positions for the next operation, in which case a lighter
weight may be used.
Figures 4 and 5ª show a modified arrangement of the motion for the
plate d, which in this case is carried by a horizontal rocking shaft d¹
hinged at its outer end to the side of the charger a, and at its inner end
to the radial arm a¹; the inner end of the shaft d' is provided with a
cranked portion & resting on a plate or stop k, by which the plate d is
sustained when the charger is in its backward position. As the charger
moves forward the crank arm d³ is allowed to pass down the edge k¹ of
the plate or stop k, thereby allowing the plate d to fall and drop the
contents of the charger.
Having now described the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same may be conveniently carried into practical effect, we
desire to state that we do not limit ourselves to the precise details
shewn in the accompanying Drawings, as the same may obviously be
modified to suit the requirements of particular cases without departing
from the distinctive character or features of our Invention, as, for
instance, it will be evident that the rocking shaft may receive motion
from a pivotted step or foot plate, working in connection with or
independently of the seat, so as to give motion to the apparatus in a
similar way to that already particularly described. What we consider
to be novel and original and therefore claim as the Invention secured to
us by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,—
1. Constructing dry closets or commodes so that a single movement
of the seat, handle, or equivalent part in a given direction shall produce
the necessary to-and-fro motions of the charger, whereby it is brought into
the proper position before depositing its contents on to the excreta to be
deodorized, and is afterwards returned to its place under the receptacle
containing the supply of deodorant, substantially as described.
2. The construction of dry closets or commodes, substantially as
shewn in and described with reference to Figures 1, 3, 4, 4ª, 5, and 5ª, of
the accompanying Drawings.
3. The construction of dry closets or commodes, substantially as
shewn in and described with reference to Figure 2 of the accompanying
Drawings.

page_text: 4. The construction of dry closets or commodes, substantially as
shewn in and described with reference to Figures 6 and 7 of the accom-
panying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Atkinson Pollock, have here-
unto set my hand and scal, this Twenty-second day of November,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and
soventy-one.
Witness,
W. LLOYD WISE,
Patent Agent,
London,
W.O.
ALFRED A. POLLOCK. (L.S.)