IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR FLUSHING PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Skerrett, of the Great Western Buildings,
6, Livery Street, Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Mechanical
Engineer, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR FLUSHING
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henry Skerrett at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 28th October 1881.
HENRY SKERRETT, of the Great Western Buildings, 6. Livery Street, Birmingham,
in the County of Warwick, Mechanical Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
FOR FLUSHING WATER CLOSETS, AND FOR OTHER SIMILAR PURPOSES."
My Invention consists of the improvements hereinafter described in apparatus
for flushing water closets and urinals, but my said Invention may also be applied
for other purposes where a determined quantity of water is required to be dis-
charged from a cistern or reservoir. I will describe my Invention as applied to
the flushing apparatus of a water closet.
The cistern or flush box has a capacity sufficient to contain about the prescribed
quantity of water to be discharged at a time from the cistern through a pipe to
the pan of the water closet.
In the said cistern is a syphon or bent pipe or tube formed in one piece with or
affixed to the cistern. The bend of the said syphon is by preference flattened out
at its top, in order to diminish the height which the water will require to rise in
the cistern, to cover the top of the syphon.
The said flattened syphon bend comes within a short distance of the top of the
cistern. The flattened out bend contains the same cubical capacity in cross section,
as that of the legs or stems of the said syphon. The short leg of the syplion opens
into the cistern at a short distance from its bottom, while the long leg passes
through the bottom of the cistern, to the pan of the closet to be flushed or
cleansed.

page_text: The water in the cistern or flush box is allowed only to fill it to such a height
by the action of the ball float, that the said water, rises in the short leg of the
syphon to the level of the lower edge of the orifice of the syphon bend described.
A closed vessel, weight, or water displacer worked or actuated by a lever is
jointed or connected to one end of the cistern or flush box.
The flushing of the closet is effected in the following manner :-
By depressing the end of the lever the closed vessel or water displacer forcibly
descends in the water in the cistern, displacing the said water to an extent equal
or nearly equal to the cubical capacity of the closed vessel or water displacer
employed, thus causing the water to rise in the cistern above the bend of the
syphon, and fill or charge the said syphon with water. As the column of water
in the longer leg of the syphon preponderates over that in the shorter leg, the
water is drawn or forced through the long leg or pipe from the cistern described
and supplied to the pan of the closet to be flushed or cleansed.
The long leg of the syphon also serves as an overflow, so long as the syphon does
not become fully charged.
The displacement of the water in the cistern to fill or charge the syphon
immediately preceding the flushing operation, may be produced by the depression
of the ball float, which in this case is made considerably larger than usual.
My Invention may be modified by so constructing the syphon and arranging the
other parts of the flushing apparatus, so that the bend of the syphon may be
lowered below the surface of the water in the cistern and charged, instead of dis-
placing the water as before described.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Henry Skerrett in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 26th April
1882.
HENRY SKERRETT, of the Great Western Buildings, 6, Livery Street, Birmingham,
in the County of Warwick, Mechanical Engineer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
FOR FLUSHING WATER CLOSETS, AND FOR OTHER SIMILAR PURPOSES."
My Invention consists of the improvements hereinafter described and illustrated
in the accompanying Drawings in apparatus for flushing water closets and urinals,
but my said Invention may also be used for other purposes where a determined
quantity of water is required to be discharged from a cistern or reservoir.
I will describe and illustrate my Invention as applied to the flushing apparatus
of a water closet.
Figure 1 represents in longitudinal vertical section a cistern or flush box con-
taining apparatus constructed according to one of my improvements for flushing
the pan of a water closet, the parts being represented in the positions which they
respectively occupy when the flushing apparatus is ready for use.
a is the cistern or flush box of sufficient capacity to contain a prescribed quantity
of water to be discharged at a time from the cistern through a pipe to the pan of
the water closet. In the cisterna is a fixed annular shell or casing b closed at top,
and opening at bottom into the said cistern or flush box; c is a down pipe in
the casing b, the said down pipe passing through the bottom of the cistern, and
terminating in the pan of the closet; d is a water displacer for raising the water to
a higher level in the annular shell or casing b, as herein after described for charging
the down pipe c, c³; e is the ball float for determining the height of the water in
the cisterna and casing b; f is the overflow pipe.
When the water in the cistern a aud casing 6 has risen to a height a short
distance below the top of the down pipe c, which height is determined by the ball
float e, the apparatus is ready for the flushing operation. To effect the flushing
the water displacer d is depressed by operating upon the bent rod through the
chain d³.
The water now rises in the fixed annular shell or chamber b, closing the
diaphragm or valve 3, and preventing the escape of water therefrom. In the
flushing operation the said fixed annular shell or chamber b constitutes the short
leg of a syphon, and the down pipe c the long leg of a syphon. The water rising
above the top of the pipe c in the shell b, flows over the top c² of the said down
pipe c, filling or charging the said down pipe or long leg with water. As the
column of water in the down pipe or long leg c preponderates over that in the
fixed short leg b the valve bis raised from its seat, and the water from the
cistern a is drawn or forced through the opening b³, fixed short leg b, and the long
leg c, c, and a prescribed quantity of water is supplied to the pan of the closet to
be flushed or cleansed, the water entering the closet pan with great velocity.
By the emptying of the cistern as described, the ball float e descends, thereby
opening its valve and allowing water to again enter the cistern from the service
pipe, the said water filling the said cistern and annular shell or chamber b to the
height before indicated, and raising the buoyant water displacer d, d², d³, to its
normal position. The flushing apparatus is again ready for use. Instead of the
buoyant water displacer described, a solid one may be used; in this case a counter-
poised jointed lever is by preference employed.
Figure 2 represents a longitudina. vertical section of a modification of the
arrangement shown in Figure 1. .

page_text: In this arrangement the fixed annular chamber or short leg b is made of smaller
diameter, and surrounding it is a secondary or outer casing b open at top, and
closed at bottom by valves at 62, 62. In this outer casing 6 the water displacer d
works. The small annular chamber b, Figure 2, is closed at top and open at
bottom, the open bottom communicating with the secondary or outer casing b*.
The action of the parts of the modified apparatus, Figure 2, is the same as that
of the parts of the arrangement, Figure 1.
Figure 3 represents another arrangement of my Invention, in which the annular
shell or casing b, and water displacer d are made in one piece.
By depressing the said combined annular shell and casing b, d, the water which
has filled the chamber 64, is by the descent of the water displacer d and combined
shell b made to raise the water enclosed therein between the sides of the casing and
the down pipe c, and over the top of the pipe c, thereby filling the said down
pipe c, c, as before described with reference to Figure 1. The return of the
combined parts b, d, is effected by a coiled spring g or by a counterbalance
weight.
Figure 4 represents another arrangement of my Invention. In this arrange-
ment the down pipe or long leg c of the syphon is charged or filled by a separate
chamber or vessel h in communication with the cistern a by the valve and opening
at h³. In the chamber the water displacer d works. By the descent of the said
water displacer by a downward pull of the bent rod d² working through the
guide d', the water in the pipe b and chamber h is forced over the bridge c², and
fills or charges the long leg c, c³, as before described, and flushes the closet pan as
desired.
_ Figures 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,_and_10, represent another apparatus for flushing water
closets constructed according to my Invention.
Figure 5 represents a longitudinal vertical section of the flushing apparatus
ready for use, and Figure 6 represents the same in the act of flushing the pan of a
closet Figure 7 represents a plan of Figure 1 partly in section with some of the
parts broken off; Figures 8, 9, and 10, represent parts of the apparatus separately.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in Figures 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,
and 10.
In this arrangement the water displacer has an upward or ascending motion
given to it for raising the water to a higher level in the annular chamber or short
leg of the syphon, and filling or charging with water the down pipe or long
leg c, c²
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-
:-
Water is allowed to rise by the ball float e in the cistern a, and in the fixed
annular chamber or short leg b of the syphon arrangement, to within a short
distance of the top of the down pipe or long leg c.
On raising the water displacer d and the rod de connected with it by means of
the lever and chain d³, d', the diaphragm or valve 62 is closed. (The rod d³ works
through the stuffing box d in the top of the casing b). The water is now raised in
the fixed annular shell or casing b above the top of the down pipe c, and flowing
over the said top c² of the down pipe c, c³, fills or charges the said down pipe or
long leg with water.
As the column of water in the down pipe c preponderates over that in the fixed
annular chamber b, the diaphragm or valve b³ is raised from its seat, and the water
from the cistern a is drawn or forced under the open end 63 through the fixed
short leg b, and reticulations or openings d' of the water displacer d, down the pipe
or long leg c, c³, and is supplied to the pan of the closet to be flushed or cleansed,
as represented in longitudinal vertical section in Figure 6.
On loosing the lever the water displacer d falls to the normal position,
Figure 5, by its own weight. In all the arrangements of my Invention, the
emptying of the cistern and the flushing of the pan is started by the depression of
the hand chain represented, the flushing continuing until the cistern is emptied
after the liberation of the chain by the hand.

page_text: Figure 8 represents a plan, and Figure 9 a side elevation (partly in section) of
the syphon b, c, detached; Figure 10 represents the water displacer detached.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in which the
same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself to
the precise details herein described and illustrated, as the same may be varied
without departing from the nature of my Invention, but I claim as my Invention,―
First. The combination of the fixed casing constituting the short leg of the
syphon, with a moveable water displacer working in the said fixed casing or short
leg, the said fixed casing and water displacer being arranged and combined with
the other parts of the flushing apparatus, and acting substantially as herein before
described and illustrated in Figures 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, of the accompanying
Drawings, whether the starting of the flushing water be effected by the ascent or
by the descent of the said water displacer.
Secondly. The arrangement or combination of the parts of the flushing apparatus
described and represented in Figure 3 of the accompanying Drawings.
Thirdly. The arrangement or combination of the parts of the flushing apparatus
described and represented in Figure 4 of the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Skerrett, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twenty second day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty two.
Witness,
WILLIAM H. BARACLOUGH,
Birmingham.
HENRY SKERRETT. (L.S.)