IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF PRIVIES, DUST-HOLES, COMMODES, WATERCLOSETS, ASH
Year: 1866

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Solomon William Woodroffe, of Costock, in-the
County of Nottingham, Farmer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE CONSTRUCTION OF PRIVIES, DUST-HOLES, COMMODES, WATERCLOSETS, ASH-
Sealed the 7th May 1867, and dated the 9th November-1866.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Solomon William Woodroffe
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
9th November 1866.
I, SOLOMON WILLIAM WOODROFFE, of Costock, in the County of Notting-
ham, Farmer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE.
MENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF PRIVIES, DUST-HOLES, COMMODES, WATEROLOSETS,
ASH-PITS, AND TANK COVERS. AND FOR OTHER SIMILAR PURPOSES," to be as
follows:-
My Invention has for its object improvements in the construction of privies,
dust holes, commodes, waterclosets, ash-pits, and tank covers, and other
similar purposes, and consists in the employment of one or more discs, flaps,
doors, or covers hinged or otherwise attached to the under side of a seat
flap, door, or cover, above which is another seat flap, door, or cover capable
of being depressed by hand or by the weight of the user or other weight;
such upper seat flap, door, or cover has projections on its under side which
pass through slits or apertures in the lower seat flap, door, or cover, and
press upon projections on the upper side of the first-mentioned disc or discs,
flaps, doors, or covers, which have weights or equivalent contrivances on their
lower side, so that they shall effectually close or cover over any orifice at, to,
[Price]

page_text: or near which they are attached, when there is no pressure upon the upper
seat flap, door, or cover, but when pressure is applied to the upper seat
flap, door, or cover the first-named discs, flaps, doors, or covers will recede,
slide, or fall away from beneath the orifice, leaving the space.below it
open for the passage of substance or liquid; on the seat being relieved of
pressure the discs, flaps, doors, or covers will assume a position forming an
air-tight closure,and thus prevent escape of effluvia or noxious gas or vapour.
My Invention is in like manner applicable to privies, dust-holes, commodes,
waterclosets, ash-pits, and tank covers, and other similar purposes.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,. fileḍ
by the said Solomon William Woodroffe iu the Great Seal Patent Office
_ on the 9th May 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
WILLIAM WOODROFFE, of Costock, in the County of Nottingham, Farmer;
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Solomon William Woodroffe, Her special licence that I, the said
Solomon William Woodroffe, my executors,administrators, and assigns,orsuch
others as I,thesaidSolomon William Woodroffe, my executors, administrators,
or assigns, should at any time agreewith, 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 CONSTRUCTION OF PRIVIES, DUST-HOLES, COMMODES, WATER
CLOSETS, ASH-PITS, AND TANK COVERS, AND FOR OTHER SIMILAR PURPOSES," upon. the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Solomon William Woodroffe, my
executors or administrators, by aninstrument in writingunder my,or their, or
one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what mannerthesame was tobeperformed,
and cause the same to befiledinthe GreatSeal Patent Officewithin sixcalendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Solomon William Woodroffe, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and.in..what manner the same iş

page_text: to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, reference being had totheaccompanying Drawings
and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say :-
MyInvention has for its object improvements in the constructionof privies;
dustholes, commodes, waterclosets, ash-pits, and tank covers, and other
similar purposes, and consists in the employment of one or more discs, flaps,
doors, or covers hinged or otherwise attached to the under side of a seat flap,
This
door, or cover, above which is placed another seat flap, door, or cover.
last-mentioned seat flap, door, or cover is capable of being depressed by hand
or by the weight of the user or other weight, such upper seat flap, door, or
cover has projections on its under side, which pass through slits or apertures
in the lower seat flap, door, or cover, and press upon projections on the upper
side of the first-mentioned disc or discs, flaps, doors, or covers, which has or
have weights or equivalent contrivances on its or their lower side, so that it or
they shall effectually close or cover over an orifice or orifices, at, to, or near
which it or they is or are attached whenever there is no pressure upon the
upper seat flap, door, or cover; but when pressure is applied to the upper
Beat flap, door, or cover such hinged or otherwise attached discs, flaps, doors
or covers will recede, slide, or fall away from beneath the orifice, leaving the
whole space below such orifice open for the passage of any substance or liquid.
which it may be desirable to pass through the same, and on the seat being
relieved of pressure the discs, flaps, doors, or covers will assume such position
that they shall form an air-tight closure, and thus prevent escape of effluvia
or noxious gas or vapour. :
A
My Invention is in like manner applicable to privies, dust-holes, commodes,
waterclosets, ash-pits, and tank covers, and other similar purposes...- .I
Having thus set forth the nature of my Invention. I proceed more fully to
describe themanuerof performing thesamewithreference totheaccompanying
Drawings.
Sell.! :
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, represent my improvements applied to a privy
or watercloset seat or cover. Figure 1 is a plan of the apparatus showing
my improvements viewed from the under side of the seat or covers Figure.2
is a front view of my apparatus showing the valves closed; Figure 3 isla
front view shewing the valves open, and Figure 4 exhibits in section the
arrangement which Iemploy for supplying or distributing water or disinfecting
fluid or other fluid for flushing purposes. A is a seat, door, or cover, to the
under side of which are fixed two or more bearings B, each pair of these

page_text: a
bearings receives an axle C, to which is secured a flap D; these flaps D
are provided at their edges with flexible india-rubber tubing E, or with its
equivalent in such manner that when the edges are pressed together by the
spring F upon each axle the orifice of the privy, watercloset, commode, or
other convenience is closed by the flaps D; the under side of this orifice has
ring G of felt, leather, india-rubber, or other similar material secured to it.
Each axle is furnished with a short arm C¹ attached by connecting links to
a lever C, which works on an axle in a bracket C³ secured to the closet
or other seat, the other end of the lever is.hinged to a short projecting rod C
which passes through the seat and projects a short distance above it, as seen
at Figure 2 where a second seat or cover H which is hinged to the first seat
rests upon the projecting rod C, such being the position of the several parts
at all times, except when pressure is applied to the upper seat or cover by
the sitting down of the user, which act depresses the upper seat or cover
and forces the rod C into the position shewn at Figure 3, which causes the
flap D to fall away from beneath the orifice, leaving the whole orifice open
for the passage of any substance or liquid which it may be desirable to pass
through it, such orifice being effectually closed on the rising of the user or
upon the release of pressure on the rod C any substance or liquid which
passes through the orifice in the seats or covers A and H fall into a tank or
other receptacle I which is placed for the purpose beneath the seats or covers.
This tank or other receptacle also receives at each rise of the rod Ca a quantity
of disinfecting or other fluid which may be supplied to the tank I, or other
receptacle in measured quantities by means of an apparatus which is shown
in section at Figure 4, and consists of a tank or other receptacle K which is
placed below the seats A, H, and at the back of the orifices in such seats, and
which is capable of holding a gallon or more of water when mixed with a
proper proportion of disinfecting fluid, which water and disinfecting fluid
may be supplied to the tank or other receptacle K by hand, or the tank or
other receptacle K may be supplied from a larger vessel placed conveniently
above the seats of the closet, commode, or other convenience. The tank or
other receptacle K has an orifice at the bottom which is stopped by a valve
plug, to which is attached a chain or wire passed over one of two pulleys K¹ on
which pulley the said chain or wire is secured, the axle of which pulley is placed
in bearings on the top of the sides of the tank K or other receptacles the
chain or wire is passed over the aforesaid pulley, and secured at the other end
to a valve plug which is capable of opening or closing the upper end of the
pipe,, or a valve may be placed over a pipe in the bottom of a small tank
the c
of such tank L determining the quantity of mixed fluids passed
13:0
ti 23
J7205

page_text: from it into the tank Iorother receptacle on each using of the closet,commode,
or other convenience. The valves in the tanks K and L are actuated in the
following manner:-Either end of a wire or chain is secured to one of the two
pulleys K',and the other end is secured to a smaller pulley K' which is secured
upon one of the axles C, as seen at Figure 1,where the position of the tank K
or other receptacle is shewn by dotted lines. By this arrangement it is evident
that whenever a user of the closet,commode, or convenience presses down the
seat H the pulley K2 will partially revolve, thereby closing the valve in the
tank Land opening the valve in the tank K, and thereby filling the tank L,
and upon the pressure being taken off the seat of the closet, commode, or other
convenience the valve in the tank K will be closed, and the valve in the
tank L opened, and its contents will be delivered into the tank I or other
such receptacle. The same arrangement may be employed for flushing the
pan of a commode or other convenience, and the apparatus when applied to
ash-pits, dust-holes, tank covers, and other similar purposes may be supplied
with a flap D operated upon by a spring, as above described, or the closing
of the flap may be effected by a weighted lever or by its equivalent
contrivance.
Having now described the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same may be performed, I declare that I claim,―
First, the arrangement and combination of apparatus,substantially as above
described, whereby an orifice (or orifices) is (or are) opened for the passage
of liquid or substances to be passed through the same, and whereby the said
orifice (or orifices) is (or are) closed air-tight, as set forth.
Second, the general arrangement and combination of parts constituting
the improved apparatus herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Solomon William Woodroffe, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Fourth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
Witness,.
SOLOMON WILLIAM WOODROFFE. (L.S.)
GEO. JON. ROBINSON,
Patent Office,
Nottingham.