improvements in or in connection with water-closets.
Year: 1896

page_text: Date of Application, suth Mar., 1896
Complete Specification Left. 25th Jan., 1897-Accepted, 27th Feb., 1897
Application, suth Mar., 1896
Complete Specification Left. 25th Jan., 1897-Accepted, 27th Feb., 1897
improvements in or in connection with water-closets.
A communication by JOHN C. FEBIGER, Jr., of New Orleans, in the Parish of
Orleans and State of Louisiana, United States of America.
1, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E. of The Agency for
Foreigu Patent Solicitors, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool and 6, Bank Street,
Manchester, both in the County of Lancaster, 118, New Street, Birmingham
in the County of Warwick and 322 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex,
Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to
be as
follows:-
The object of the invention is to produce improvements in devices for attaching
seats to water-closet bowls in order to prevent the breaking or chipping of parts of
the bowl to which the seat is attached.
One of the objects in the construction of sanitary closets has been to reduce the
seat-surface, but heretofore in articles of this class devices for securing the seat to
the bowl have proven defective, owing to the fact that the means of attaching the
seat to the bowl has been a rigid one, so that when the front buffer-rubbers get
hardened or compressed by use, the rear buffer-rubbers act as a fulcrum, producing
a strain upon the connection between the seat and the bowl, which breaks the bowl
at the place of connection.
The closet-bowl is made of any suitable and ordinary frangible material-as,
for example, china or porcelain. It may be made in any ordinary style or design
with any preferred form of vents, or similar, usual or preferred arrangements. It
is provided with a rear extension or projection of suitable shape and dimensions,
through which the flush-water supply-bore may be introduced. It is provided upon
opposite sides with parallel vertical surfaces.
The invention comprises an ordinary seat-block or that portion of the seat which
in practice is secured to the bowl, and is usually made of wood; a hinged cover or
lid; rear buffers, consisting usually of rubber knobs, and a similar front buffer; a
pair of bracket-pieces which are secured, respectively, as by screws to the bottom
of the seat-block, and whose legs extend opposite to each other along the surfaces
and in close proximity thereto; abutment thumb-screws, one of which works in a
screw-threaded aperture in each of the legs, preferably near its lower extremity;
a vertical recess or slit in the end of each of the legs, and in vertical radial
alignment with the screw; oblong vertically-disposed recesses located upon opposite
sides of the projection and sunk through the surfaces thereof; lug-plates that fit
within the recesses respectively, they are somewhat shorter than the recesses, so as
to provide a space between their upper ends and the upper ends of the recesses,
respectively; a lug on each of the lug-plates, which works in the slit of the leg;
a pad of rubber or suitable yielding material, which is designed to afford between
the lug-plate and the bottom of its recess in the projection yielding cushion or
compensating connection against vertical strain. The surfaces of the recesses and
the lug-plates, which are opposed to the sides of the pad, are rendered suitably
abrasive or roughened, as by knurling or checking.
In practice the lower surfaces of the seat-block and the seat are brought into
exact alignment, so that the buffers squarely touch and rest upon the edge of the

page_text: bowl and without strain at the plane. In this position the abutment-screws are
screwed against the lug-plates, so as to fix the parts in the position to which they
are adjusted, the legs being held firmly in the vertical position by the engagement
of the abutment-screws with the lug-plates and the engagement of the sides of the
slits with the lugs. All necessary range of adjustment between the legs, which
carry the seat-block and the lug-plates, which hug the projection, is obtainable
through the depths or lengths of the slits.
When properly adjusted, as above described, the buffers, sit squarely upon the
edge of the bowl, and if at any time thereafter, through permanent or temporiry
compression of the buffers or unequal compression of the buffers, a strain is exerted
at the plane between the seat-block and the seat, or upon the buffers as a fulcrum,
the strain is not communicated to the fragile material of the bowl but is taken up
and dissipated through the pads, the space permitting the requisite longitudinal
or vertical movement of the lug-plates to which the parts that exert the strain are
secured.
It will be seen that by reason of the close connection or contact between the
pad and the plate, the latter under strain will cause the pad to yield edgewise, or,
if you please, vertically, but will resume its normal position by reason of the
resiliency of the pad when the strain is removed. If, however, the strain is greater
than can be compensated for by the yielding of the pad, the connection between
the brackets depending from the seat and the plates will be broken, accomplishing
the detachment of the parts without bringing the direct strain upon the frangible
material of which the bowl is composed.
The yielding connection between the seat and bowl of the device is unlimited by
the frangible material, and under a less strain than will chip the bowl an entire
detachment of the parts will be effected, there being two distinct yielding connec-
tions, the first by the yielding of the rubber pad, and second, by the separation of
the brachets from the plates under a strain greater than can be resisted by
the pad.
The invention is not limited to the details of construction herein described,
but the right to m.odity and vary the same within the scope of the invention are
reserved.
Dated this 28th day of March 1896.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents.
A communication by JOHN C. FEBIGER, Jr., of New Orleans, in the Parish of
Orleans and State of Louisiana, United States of America.
1, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of The Agency for
Foreign Patent Solicitors, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool and 6, Bank Street,
Manchester, both in the County of Lancaster, 118, New Street, Birmingham in
the County of Warwick and 322, High Holborn in the County of Middlesex, Civil
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:-
The object of the invention is to produce improvements in devices for attaching
seats to water-closet bowls in order to prevent the breaking or chipping of parts of
the bowl to which the seat is attached.

page_text: One of the objects in the construction of sanitary closets has been to reduce the
seat-surface, but heretofore in articles of this cla-s devices for securing the seat to
the bowl have proven defective, owing to the fact that the means of attaching the
seat to the bowl has been a rigid one, so that when the front buffer-rubbers get
hardened or compressed by use, the rear buffer-rubbers act as a fulcrum, producing
a strain upon the connection between the seat and the bowl, which breaks the bowl
at the place of connection.
In the accompanying drawings-
Figure I is a side elevation of a closet bowl and seat embodying the invention;
Figure II is a rear sectional view of the same, taken on the line 2-2 of Figure I
and looking toward the bowl;
Figure III is a group of detail, illustrating the lug plate and pad.
Referring to the figures on the drawings, I in licates a closet-bowl made of any
suitable and ordinary frangible material-as, for example, china or porcelain. It
may be made in any ordinary style or design with any preferred form of vents, or
similar, usual or preferred arrangements. It is provided with a rear extension or
projection 2 of suitable shape and dimensions, through which the flush-water
supply-bore may be introduced, as indicated at 3. It is provided upon opposite
sides with parallel vertical surfaces 4.
5 indicates an ordinary seat-block or that portion of the seat which in practice
is secured to the bowl and is usually made of wood; 6 the seat hinged, as indicated
at 7 to the seat-block; 8 the plane of division between the seat-block and the
seat; 9 the usual hinged cover or lid; 10 the rear buffers, consisting usually of
rubber knobs, and 11 a similar front buffer; 12 each of a pair of bracket-pieces
which are secured, respectively, as by screws 13, to the bottom of the seat-block,
and whose legs 14 extend opposite to each other along the surfaces 4 and in close
proximity thereto.
15 indicates abutment thumb-screws, one of which works in a screw-threaded
aperture in each of the legs 14, preferably near its lower extremity; 16 a vertical
recess or slit in the end of each of the legs 14 and in vertical radial alignment with
the screw 15; 17 each of two oblong vertically-disposed recesses located upon
opposite sides of the projection 2 and sunk through the surfaces 4 thereof; 18 lug-
plates that fit within the recesses 17, respectively. They are somewhat shorter
than the recesses, so as to provide a space 19 between their upper ends and the
upper ends of the recesses, respectively.
20 indicates a lug on each of the lug-plates, which works in the slit 16 of the
leg 14. 21 indicates a pad of rubber or suitable yielding material, which is
designed to afford between the lug-plate and the bottom of its recess in the
projection 2 a yielding cushion or compensating connection against vertical strain.
The surfaces of the recesses 17 and the lug-plates 18, which are opposed to the
sides of the pad, are rendered suitably abrasive or roughened, as by knurling or
checking.
In practice the lower surfaces of the seat-block 5 and the seat 6 are brought
into exact alignment, so that the buffers 10 and 11 squarely touch and rest upon
the edge of the bowl 1 and without strain at the plane 8. In this position the
abutment-screws 15 are screwed against the lug-plates 18, so as to fix the parts in
the position to which they are adjusted, the legs 14 being held firmly in the
vertical position by the engagement of the abutment-screws 15 with the lug-plates
and the engagement of the sides of the slits 16 with the lugs 20. All necessary
range of adjustment between the legs 14, which carry the seat-block 5, and the
lug-plates, which hug the projection 2, is obtainable through the depths or lengths
of the slits 16.
When properly adjusted, as above described, the buffers 10 and 11 sit squarely
upon the edge of the bowl, and if at any time thereafter, through permanent or
temporary compression of the buffers or unequal compression of the buffers 10
and 11, a strain is exerted at the plane 8 between the seat-block and the seat, or
upon the buffers 10 as a fulcrum the strain is not communicated to the fragile

page_text: material of the bowl but is taken up and dissipated through the pads 21, the
space 19 permitting the requisite longitudinal or vertical movement of the lug-
plates 18 to which the parts that exert the strain are securel.
It will be seen that by reason of the close connection or contact between the
pad 17 and the plate 18, the latter under strain will cause the pad to yield edgewise,
or, if you please, vertically, but will resume it- normal position by reason of the
resiliency of the pad when the strain is removed. If, however, the strain is
greater than can be compensated for by the yielding of the pad, the connection
between the brackets depending from the seat and the plates will be broken,
accomplishing the detachment of the parts without bringing the direct strain upon
the fringible material of which the bowl is composed.
The yielding connection between the seat and bowl of the device is unlimited by
the frangible material, and under a less strain than will chip the bowl an entire
detachment of the parts will be effected, there being two distinct yielding connec
tions, the first by the yielding of the rubber pad and, second, by the separation of
the brackets 12 from the plates 18 under a strain greater than can be resisted by
the pad.
The invention is not limited to the details of construction herein described, but
the right to modify, and vary the same within the scope of the invention is
reserved.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, I declare that what I claim is :-
1. The combination with a water-closet seat and bowl, of a flat resilient pad
upon the side of the bowl, and mechanism connecting the seat with the face of the
pad, whereby the pad is compelled to yield edgewise under pressure substantially
as specified.
2. The combination with a water-closet bowl and seat, of pads upon the bowl,
depending brackets upon the seat, plates intermediate of the brackets and pads,
and mechanism carried by the brackets for securing them to the plates and for
pressing the plates tightly against the pads, substantially as specified.
3. The combination with a water-closet bowl and seat, of yielding plates carried
by the bowl and provided with lugs, brackets depending from the seat, and
provided with recesses designed to be engaged by the lugs of the yielding plates,
and mechanism for securing the brackets to the plates, substantially as specified.
4. The combination with a bowl and projections thereon, of opposite recesses
therein, lug-plates, and lugs in the recesses, a cushion or pad in each of the
recesses, a seat and brackets secured thereto, and abutment-screws carried in the
brackets, substantially as and for the purpose specified.
Dated this 23rd day of January 1897.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents.