IMPROVEMENTS IN URINALS AND DRAINAGE TRAPS AND IN THE METHOD OF PREVENTING THE DECOMPOSITION OF URINE AND OTHER DRAINAGE
Year: 1885

page_text: I THOMAS MACKFORD LOWNDS of Egham Hill in the County of Surrey, Doctor
of Medicine, Surgeon Major Retired of H.M.S. Bombay Medical Establishment do
hereby declare the nature of the said invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN URINALS
AND DRAINAGE TRAPS AND IN THE METHOD OF PREVENTING THE DECOMPOSITION
OF URINE AND OTHER DRAINAGE," to be as follows:-
The object of my Invention is to avoid odor and nuisance arising from the
decomposition of urine and foul water from urinals, earth closets, and house drains
generally, and to this end my Invention consists in preventing contact of the fluid
with the atmosphere by means of a protective covering or layer of oil combined
with any suitable anti-septic, such as carbolic acid, terebene oil, common creosote
oil, &c.
The Invention is particularly applicable to public urinals as I am enabled to
avoid the odor arising from the decomposition of the urine which, in urinals as at
present constructed, ordinarily remains in the pan after use.
I will describe the Invention in connection with a urinal, but I would have it
clearly understood that the same construction may be applied to house drains
generally whether for sinks or for the fluid from earth closets, or, in fact, where
there is any foul liquid liable to decomposition.
According to my Invention the basin or pan of the urinal is built into the wall
and is separated into two parts by means of a curtain which dips down nearly to
the bottom of the pan. The pan has no outlet for the fluid on the receiving side
and the urine passes beneath the curtain to a discharge pipe which is attached to
the rear side of the pan. The urine always remains at the level of the discharge
pipe through which the excess passes away to the drain pipe or protected tank
without delay. At the front or receiving side the fluid is covered to the depth of
about one inch with an oily fluid in which has been dissolved a suitable antiseptic
I Prine 1

page_text: such as those above mentioned, and in the midst of this oil is a perforated plate
which is arranged just beneath the surface of the urine and serves both to prevent
the protective covering from being carried away with the urine through the
discharge pipe and also to catch any solid matter that may be thrown into
the urinal.
At the back of the curtain the surface of the urine is separated from the air by a
box containing wood or peat charcoal.
I have determined by the most complete tests that urine under oil, as described,
is kept absolutely free from decomposition or change of any kind and it may be so
kept for a year without giving off any gases or becoming a nuisance or hurtful in
any way.

page_text: Method of Preventing the Decomposition of Urine and
other Drainage.
-I, THOMAS MACKFORD LOWNDS of Egham Hill in the County of Surrey Doctor
of Medicine, Surgeon-Major Retired of H.M.S. Bombay Medical Establishment,
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 my Invention is to avoid odor due to the decomposition of Urine
and foul water in public, or other Urinals, earth closets, and house drains generally;
and to this end my Invention consists essentially in covering the surface of the
fluid with a supernatant protective layer of oil combined with any suitable
antiseptic, such as Carbolic Acid, Terebene Oil, common Creosote Oil, etc.
The Invention also consists in the special arrangements adopted for retaining the
protective layer in the basin and preventing contact of the subjacent Urine with
the atmosphere of the Urinal, or apartment.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming part of this
Specification wherein;—
Figure 1 represents a vertical section of a Urinal.
Figures 2 and 3 show the Invention as applied to an earth-closet.
The basin a of the Urinal may be made of earthenware or enamelled metal, and
of any suitable form. It is provided with an outlet b communicating with a
discharge pipe c and trapped by a curtain d dipping into the liquid contained in
the basin a so as to retain the surface liquid therein. The basin is provided with
a perforated slabe of earthenware, which is supported at about the level at which
the liquid stands in the basin by suitable shoulders inside the basin. This
perforated slab is immersed in the supernatant layer of Oil which is about an inch
or so in depth and in which has been dissolved a suitable antiseptic. This
perforated slab serves to prevent the protective and antiseptic layer from being
excessively disturbed and carried away, and also to intercept any solid matters that
may be thrown into the basin. It is provided with a large central aperture closed
by a plug g which may be removed when it is desired to pour a large quantity of
liquid into the urinal. At the back of the curtain the discharge pipe c is open to
the outer air through a charcoal filter f placed in an aperture made in the wall
behind the back plate of the Urinal, the filter affording admission of air to prevent
siphoning out of the contents of the pan, and serving to deodorize any gases that
may be given off by the liquid at the back of the curtain. The bottom layer of
charcoal in the filter may be saturated with an antiseptic if desired. By this
means, all contact of the urine in the basin with the atmosphere of the apartment
is prevented. This oil should be one of the lightest, such as rape oil so as float
easily on the urine; the proportion of antiseptic oil is immaterial, but ten per cent
auswers well,

page_text: In Figures 2 and 3 a is a basin placed beneath the front part of the seat of an
earth closet, of any suitable kind, to catch the urine. This basin is trapped at one
end in precisely the same way as in the other case, and may or may not have a
perforated plate at the surface of the liquid. The urine is covered by a layer
of antiseptic oil as before, and the discharge outlet is surmounted by a charcoal
filter.
I have determined, by the most complete tests that urine under Oil, as described,
is not liable to decomposition or change of any kind even after a lengthened
period.
I have described the Invention as applied to Urinals, but I would have it
understood that it may be similarly applied to house-sinks etc.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
Invention; and in what manner the same is to be performed; I declare that what
I claim is
1st The employment, for the purpose of covering the liquid in the basin of an
Urinal or receptacle for urine, or in the trapped receptacle of a house-sink or drain,
of a supernatant layer of oil possessing antiseptic properties to prevent contact of
the urine or foul water with the atmosphere, as specified.
2nd In a Urinal or receptacle for urine and other foul water, the combination
with the basin of a trap or dipping curtain to retain the surface liquid in the
basin, a layer of Oil floating on said liquid, and a perforated plate at about the level
of the liquid, substantially as, and for the purpose, specified.
3rd. In a Urinal, or receptacle for urine and other foul water, the combination
with the basin, of a trap to retain the surface liquid in the basin, a layer of Oil
floating upon the urine, a perforated plate immersed in said layer, and a charcoal-
air-filter at the other side of the trap; substantially as described, and illustrated in
Figure 1. of the drawings annexed.