In- PROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SANITARY PURPOSES
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Wells, of Ardwick, near the City of
Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, for the Invention of "In-
PROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SANITARY PURPOSES."
Sealed the 27th August 1869, and dated the 11th March 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Wells at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
11th March 1869.
I, WILLIAM WELLS, of Ardwick, near the City of Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR SANITARY PURPOSES," to be as
follows:-
My Invention consists in an improved privy which is so constructed
that the solid portion of the excreta is kept separate from the urine,
thereby keeping the solid portion dry and facilitating its removal.
In performing my Invention I place a drum rotating on a horizontal
axle or a slightly conical disc mounted on a vertical axle under the
pan or seat of the privy, and this drum or disc is made to revolve

page_text: partly round every time the privy has been used by a footboard which
is hinged to the floor or by the seat itself, the footboard or seat being
connected to the drum or disc by a lever catch and ratchet wheel,
or other equivalent, and when the pressure is removed from the footboard
or seat it is brought back to its original position by a counterweight.
When the privy has been used the urine runs off the drum or disc
while the solid matter adheres to it, and when the drum or disc is turned
partly round by the moving of the footboard or seat the solid matter
is scraped off by a thin blade of metal or other suitable agent and is
collected in a separate vessel, from which it can be removed at any
time. The cinders that are thrown into the ash-pit may be made to
pass over a grid placed above the vessel in which the solid fecal matter
is collected, so that a small portion of fine cinders may be mixed
with it.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Wells in the Great Seal Patent Office.
on the 1st September 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
WELLS, of Ardwick, near the City of Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William Wells, Her special license
that I, the said William Wells, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said William Wells, my 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
APPARATUS FOR SANITARY PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others)
that I, the said William Wells, my executors or administrators, by
an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands

page_text: and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of
the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed,
and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within
six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Wells, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement (that is to say) :-
My Invention consists in an improved privy which is so constructed
that the solid portion of the excreta is kept separate from the urine,
thereby keeping the solid portion dry and facilitating its removal.
In performing my Invention I place a drum rotating on a horizontal
axle or a slightly conical disc mounted on a vertical or nearly vertical
axle under the pan or seat of the privy, and this drum or disc is made
to revolve partly round every time the privy has been used, by a foot-
board which is hinged to the floor or by the seat itself, the footboard
or seat being connected to the drum or disc by a lever catch and
ratchet wheel, or other equivalents, and when pressure is removed
from the footboard or seat it is brought back to its original position
by a counterweight. When the privy has been used the urine runs
off the drum or disc while the solid matter adheres to it, and when
the drum or disc is turned partly round by the moving of the footboard
or seat the solid matter is scraped off by a thin blade of metal or
other suitable agent, and is collected in a separate vessel from which
it can be removed at any time. The cinders that are thrown into
the ash-pit may be made to pass over a grid placed above the vessel in
which the solid fecal matter is collected, so that a small portion of
fine cinders may be mixed with it.
And in order that my Invention may be fully understood and
readily carried into operation, I will proceed to describe the accom-
panying Sheet of Drawings, reference being had to the figures and
letters marked thereon.
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a privy or apparatus for sanitary
purposes constructed according to my improvements; Figure 2 is a
plan, and Figure 3 a front elevation of the same. a is a slightly
conical disc which is cast with the pulley a', and this disc and pulley
are keyed on the axle & supported in the bearings c, which are secured

page_text: to the framework of the privy. The scat board d is hinged at a to
the framework of the privy; to the under side of the scat is screwed
the carthenware or sheet metal funnel e, the object of which is to
guide the urine and excreta on to the disc a. The guard fis fixed to
the side frame of the privy, and is nearly in contact with the circum-
ference of the disc a; this guard prevents any solid matter or paper
passing between it and the disc, but permits the urine to escape into.
the drain below or into a suitable receptacle under the front of the disc.
The guard or scraper 7 placed at the back of the disc a reaches from
the pulley a¹ to and beyond the circumference of the disc, and its
lower edge is in contact with the disc to scrape off and guide the excreta
into the separate vessel x, placed under and at the back of the disc.
The disc is turned partly round every time the privy has been used
in the following manner :-The long lever j is mounted on the fulcrum
studs, as shewn best in Figure 2; this lever is connected by the link h
to the elbow lever i, the lower arm of which fits on the end of
the catch lever k; this catch lever is hinged at to the framework,
and to it are jointed the catches and m, both of which gear into the
ratchet wheel ¹ fixed on the axle b; by this arrangement as soon as
anyboby sits on the seat d the short end of the lever j is depressed,
and the long arm thereof is raised, thus moving the lever / towards
the axle b, and causing the catch to move the disc a partly round
in the direction of the arrow in Figure 2, and when the weight is taken
off the seat d the weight brings the lever to its original position,
and causes the catch m to continue the partial rotary motion of the
disc in the same direction as before. By this means the solid.excreta.
which is deposited on the disc is carried round until it is brought
against the guard g, by which it is scraped off the disc and guided into
the receptacle a placed underneath. The ratchet wheel b¹ may be
driven by one catch only if required, but when two catches are used
they are connected by an india-rubber or other spring, as shewn in
Figure 2. In some cases it may be desirable to mix a portion of fine
cinders with the solid excreta; when such is the case I apply a hopper n
to the back of the privy, above which is the slanting grid o. At the bottom
of the hopper n is a small hole, and under it is a trapdoor p, hinged
to the under side of the hopper; this trapdoor is connected by the
link g to the lever, consequently every time the privy is used the
lever le moves the door p to and fro and allows a portion of fine cinders
from the hopper n to drop on the back part of the disc a or into the

page_text: box containing the solid excreta. The coarse ashes and cinders
or other articles thrown on the grid o slide down it into the ordinary
ash-pit.
Figure 4 is a sectional elevation, and Figure 5 a plan of a privy
constructed according to a modification of my Invention. In this
arrangement instead of the disc a, I make use of the drum r, which is
mounted on a horizontal axle supported in fixed bearings; the drum r
is made by preference of coarse earthenware with a glazed circumference
but it may be of metal or other materials. The drum is turned partly
round every time the privy is used by the weight on the long lever j;
this weight and lever are raised by the depression of the seat d, which
acts on the short arm of the lever j and raises the weighted end.
thereof, but as soon as the occupant of the seat rises the weight
descends, thereby causing the catch to act on the ratchet wheel 8;
this ratchet wheel is fixed to the spur wheel which gears into the
pinion keyed on the axle of the drum r. To the lever j is also jointed
the rod v, the lower end of which acts upon a lever u¹ projecting from
the axle of the scraper u, and to this axle is also fixed a weighted lever
u. The scraper is now shewn free from the circumference of the
drum and the scat is up, but when the seat is pressed down the rod v
is raised above the lever ', and the weighted lever u³ then brings the
scraper in contact with the circumference of the drum r, so as to
be ready to scrape off the solid excreta and deposit it into a suitable
vessel placed below. By this arrangement when the privy has been
used the urine runs off over the front of the drum into the ash-pit or
into a suitable receptacle, and the solid portion of the excreta adhering
to the drum is carried towards the scraper by which, as before-
described, it is deposited in a separate receptacle, from which it can
be removed with facility. The grid o shewn in Figures 1 and 3 may
be applied to the privy shewn in Figures 4 and 5.
These improved privics will be found of great advantage in a
sanitary point of view, and particularly in densely populated neighbour-
hoods, as the solid portion of the excreta being kept separate from the
urine will soon dry and cease to be offensive.
I wish it to be understood that the mechanism for giving rotary
motion to the disc a and drum may be considerably modified, and
instead of working the said mechanism from the seat of the privy as
shewn, it may be worked by means of a movable footboard placed in

page_text: front of the scat. In some cases instead of a rotary motion a recipro-
cating motion may be given to the disc or drum, or to the segment of
a disc or drum.
Having thus stated the nature of my Invention, and described two
convenient, modes of carrying the same into operation, I wish to remark
that I do not intend to limit myself to the details set forth; but what I
claim is,
First. The improved privies with rotating or reciprocating discs or
drums, or segments of discs or drums, as shewn and described, whereby
the solid excreta is separated from the liquid.
And, secondly. The apparatus described for distributing fine cinders
among the excreta.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Wells, have hereto set
my hand and scal, this Thirty-first day of August One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-ninc.