Improvements in Water Closets and in Means of Ventilating their Soil Pipes.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Feb., 1887
Complete Left, 10th Nov., 1887
Complete Accepted, 13th Dec., 1887
Improvements in Water Closets and in Means of Ventilating
their Soil Pipes.
1 JOSEPH THOMAS HARRIS, of Welby House, Lansdown Hill, Lower Norwood,
Surrey, Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows :-
My invention has reference to water closets and its chief objects are to provide a
sufficient and hermetically sealed overflow; to avoid all complication of cranks,
tumblers or other parts; to improve the construction of the valve and to enable
this to be actuated from its front face and thereby avoid the necessity for an aperture
on the soil pipe side of the valve for an operating rod to pass through; to enable the
pipe which connects the valve chamber to the soil pipe to be easily fitted; to improve
the flush to construct the closet so that it can be fixed independently without a
casing of any kind, and to provide efficient means of ventilation so as to prevent the
passage of sewer gas into the closet.
a
I will proceed to describe a closet in which my improvements are embodied. There
is behind the basin a rectangular or other shaped tank made in one piece with the
basin and formed with or containing at its lower part a valve chamber of D or other
shape this chamber is inclined and forms a continuation of the outlet from the closet
basin which communicates with its inner end. In the upper side of the valve chamber
is an opening forming the lower end of a short vertical pipe which is surrounded by
concentric pipe leaving an annular space between the two; above these two pipes is a
bell or inverted vessel whose edge extends down into the annular space; the annular
space and the bell together constitute a bell trap. When the valve of the closet is
closed and water is poured into the basin the water having no other outlet rises to the
upper part of the tank and flows through the bell trap to the valve chamber and
thence to the soil pipe. A sufficient and hermetically sealed overflow is thus
provided.
The valve is fitted within the valve chamber and opens inwards but it is operated
entirely from the outside of the said chamber. For this purpose one end of a bent or
curved bar is connected to the outer face of the valve and the other end of this bar is
attached to a weighted lever which is worked by a rod and handle (or other usual
device connected with the water supply) thus when the handle is pulled and the lever

page_text: thereby raised, the lever, the curved bar and the valve all move upon the valve pivot
and the valve is therefore moved inwards or opened and the closet is flushed. When
the handle is released the weight or weights on the lever return the parts to their
normal position. With this arrangement for working the valve there is no aperture
on the soil pipe side of the valve for the connection with the handle to pass through,
and consequently there is no chance of sewer gas escaping. The weighted lever is
preferably made semi-circular or forked to enable it to pass round the bell trap above
described, and there should be equal weights on each half or division. The valve
itself in addition to an ordinary elastic seat such as is generally provided for
closet valves has a certain additional amount of play given to it in coming to its seat
by means of an elastic ring let into a boss at the back of the valve, the valve having a
circular rib or projection to press against this ring. The boss forms part of the arm
which carries the valve, and the several parts, that is to say, the boss, the valve and
the curved arm hereinbefore described are secured together by a shouldered screw
and nut.
To enable a pipe of circular section to be fitted between the valve chamber which is
of D or other larger section, and the soil pipe I form an outside flange on the lower
part of the D and I fill up so much of the mouth or lower end of the D as will reduce
it to the size and form of the pipe to be connected thereto. The connection is then
made by securing a flange on the pipe to the flange of the D at the lower part and to
the filled up part of the D at the upper part.
To flush the closet I connect the supply pipe to a vertical slot or narrow opening in
the basin some distance down the side of the same; the water enters through this slot
at an angle and after rushing round the basin passes out of the same with such force
as to carry everything before it. The supply pipe may gradually change in form
from the cylindrical to the flat as it approaches the slot so that the flow may be
natural and unobstructed; a guard may be applied to the slot in order to ensure that
the water is made to pass properly round the basin.
From the construction of closet as before described it will be seen that it requires
no casing of any kind as all the parts beyond the basin are contained within the tank
and valve chamber already described. The seat is hinged at the back and when lifted
exposes the whole of the basin and tank and the apparatus will then serve as a slop
sink or a urinal.
In order to ventilate the soil pipes I connect with the soil pipe at a proper distance
above the closet a short branch extending downwards at an angle therefrom and in
this branch I fit a smaller pipe having a sensitive valve or damper of tale, mica or
other suitable material at top. This pipe communicates with a chamber or box in the
closet apartment in which box a gas jet or a lamp is kept burning, preferably within
a fire clay bell at some distance from an air inlet at the bottom of the box. The gas
jet or lamp maintains a current up the pipe into the branch before described and
thence into the soil pipe; the soil pipe is thus continuously and effectually ventilated;
the soil pipe is open at top or is covered with an openwork cap and has the usual
inlet for air to its lower part.
DL
1011 1
1
1007

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Water Closets and in Means of Ventilating
their Soil Pipes.
I JOSEPH THOMAS HARRIS, of Welby House, Lansdown Hill, Lower Norwood,
Surrey, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by'
the following statement :-
My invention has reference to water closets and its chief objects are to provide a
sufficient and hermetically scaled overflow; to avoid all complication of cranks,
tumblers or other parts; to improve the construction of the valve and to enable
this to be actuated from its front face and thereby avoid the necessity for an aperture
on the soil pipe side of the valve for an operating rod to pass through; to enable the
pipe which connects the valve chamber to the soil pipe to be easily fitted; to construct
the closet so that it can be fixed independently without a casing of any kind; and to
provide efficient means of ventilation so as to prevent the passage of sewer gas into
the closet.
I will proceed to describe with the aid of the annexed drawings a closet in which
my improvements are embodied. In these drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of
the closet. Figure 2 a vertical section, and Figure 3 a plan of the same. Figures 4
and 5 are respectively a front view and a back view of the valve and the adjoining
parts; these figures are drawn to a larger scale than Figures 1, 2 and 3. Figure 6
(Sheet 2) represents the means whereby I provide for efficient ventilation of the
closet so as to prevent the passage of sewer gas into the same.
A is the basin of the closet, B is a tank behind the basin; this tank is shown as of
D-form but it may be of rectangular or other shape and it may be made either in one
piece with the basin or of a separate piece of china or metal hermetically connected to
the basin. The lower part C of the tank B constitutes a valve chamber and forms a
continuation of the outlet D from the basin. In the upper side of the valve chamber C
is an opening E forming the lower end of a short vertical pipe F, this pipe is
surrounded by a space G comprised between it and the wall of the tank B, or the
outer boundary of the space G may be formed by a pipe concentric with the pipe F.
Above the pipe F is a bell or inverted vessel H whose edge extends down into the
space G so that the bell and the space together constitute a bell trap. When the
valve of the closet is closed and water is poured into the basin A the water having no
other outlet rises to the upper part of the tank B and flows through the bell trap G H
to the valve chamber C and thence to the soil pipe. A sufficient and hermetically
sealed overflow is thus provided.
I is the valve; it is fitted within the chamber C and opens inwards as indicated by
dots in Figure 2, but it is operated entirely from the outside of the said chamber.
For this purpose one end of a bent or curved bar K is connected to the outer face of
the valve and this bar is operated by intermediate mechanism connecting its other end

page_text: with a rod and handle (or other usual device connected with the water supply). The
said intermediate mechanism can be of any suitable kind; the arrangement shown
consists of an inclined projection or tooth L on a spindle M that carries the bar K and
forms the valve pivot and of a corresponding inclined recess or notch N on the end
of a weighted lever O which is centred at P and has the usual rod and handle or other
device connected to it. When the handle is pulled and the lever O thereby raised the
notch N by acting on the tooth L gives a partial rotation to the spindle M and the
valve is therefore moved inwards or opened as indicated by dots in Figure 2 and
the closet is flushed. When the handle is released the weight on the lever O and the
weight on the valve return the parts to their normal position. With this mode of
working the valve, that is to say, from its front face there is no aperture on the soil
pipe side of the valve for the connection with the handle to pass through and con-
sequently there is no chance of sewer gas escaping. The bent bar K may be
connected to the valve in any suitable manner; it is shown in the drawings as having
an aperture to fit over a boss or projection on the face of the valve and as being
secured by a nut R. The valve is shown as concave or dished on its front face to
form a hermetic joint with an elastic ring or seat S. Hermeticity between the
closet basin A and the valve chamber is completed as follows:-The valve seat S
is let into a circular recess in a metal frame T made to approximately fit a corre-
sponding opening in the front of the valve chamber and having upward extensions U, U
with horizontal flanges that fit upon the top of a fixed cross piece V which forms a
portion of the front of the tank. Around the bottom and sides of the frame T and
along the top of a loose or adjustable bar X is carried an elastic packing Y. Two
screws Z, Z pass through plain vertical holes in the cross piece V through the
packing Y and through threaded holes in the bar X and their lower ends have their
bearing in sockets a, a at the back of the frame T. When the frame T with the
packing Y has been placed in their opening in the front of the valve chamber C the
screws Z, Z are turned so that the screws by their pressure in the sockets a, a force
down the frame T and thereby make the joint at the bottom and sides hermetic while
at the same time the bar X through the action of the screws rises and forces the
packing against the underside of the cross piece V and thereby makes a hermetic
joint along the top of the opening. The centre or pivot P of the lever O is in a bar b
which is fixed to the flanges of the parts U, U by screws W, W, Figure 3.
To enable a pipe of circular section to be fitted between a valve chamber which as
in the closet shown is of D section, (or other larger section) I fill up so much of the
mouth or lower end of the D as will reduce it to the size and form of the pipe
to be connected-see Figures 2 and 5, in which the lower end of the D shaped valve
chamber is filled up to such an extent as will leave a circular opening c for a pipe to
be connected. Figure 1 shows a pipe d connected to the reduced lower end of the
valve chamber; this pipe may either be carried straight down, as shown in full lines,
or in other directions as indicated by dots in the Figure as may best suit the
surrounding circumstances.
The method of flushing may be of any desired or ordinary kind. In the drawings
I have shown the water supply pipe e as divided into two branches f, which
terminate behind a spreader in the basin.
From the construction of closet as before described it will be seen that it requires
no casing of any kind as all the parts beyond the basin are contained within the tank
and valve chamber already described. The seat (seen only in Figure 6) is hinged
at the back and when lifted exposes the whole of the basin and tank and the apparatus
will then serve as a slop sink or urinal. The basin shown in the figures is plain
externally but it may be of any ornamental character and be made self supporting
by means of a front downward extension resting on the floor, such extension being
made preferably in a piece with the basin.
In order to ventilate the soil pipes I connect with the soil pipe-see i Figure 6, at
a proper distance above the closet a branch pipe whose inner end is carried
downwards in an inclined direction and in this pipe or in a small chamber
connected therewith as shown I fit a sensitive valve or damper of talc, mica or

page_text: other suitable material. The pipe communicates with a box m in the closet com-
partment and in this box a gas jet n or a lamp is kept burning preferably within a fire
clay bell o at some distance from the inlet for air at the bottom of the box. The gas
jet or lamp maintains a current up the box into the branch pipe k and thence into the
soil pipe the soil pipe is thus continuously and effectually ventilated; the soil
pipe is open at top or is covered with an openwork cap and has the usual inlet for air
to its lower part. Where there is a range of closets, that is to say, a number of
closets one above another on different floors and discharging into one common soil
pipe it will generally be sufficient to fit my means of ventilating to one of the
closets, preferably the uppermost one.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, declare that what 1
claim is :-
1. In a water closet, a hermetically sealed overflow formed by a tank or chamber
in direct communication on the one hand with the closet basin and in communication
on the other hand with the valve chamber through a bell trap, substantially as
hereinbefore described.
2. In a water closet, a valve fitted to open inwards into the valve chamber and
operated entirely from the outside of such chamber substantially as described,
whereby all necessity for an aperture on the soil pipe side of the valve for an
operating rod to pass through is avoided as set forth.
3. The particular arrangement or mechanism hereinbefore described and represented
in the drawings for operating the valve from the outside of the valve chamber.
4. The combination of parts forming an improved water closet as hereinbefore
described and represented in Figures 1 to 5 of the annexed drawings.
5. The means of ventilating the soil pipes of water closets substantially as herein-
before described and represented in Figure 6 of the annexed drawings.
Dated this 10th day of November 1887.
J. C. MEWBURN,
169, Fleet Street, London,
Agent.