Improvements in and relating to Siphon Water Closets.
Year: 1891

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Siphon Water Closets.
I, CHRISTIAN ALBERT JENSEN, of 77 Chancery Lane, London, in the County
of Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention,
(a communication to me from abroad by McCambridge & Company. Limited of
623, 525 & 527 Cherry Street, Philadelphia in the State of Pennsylvania one of
the United States of America) and in what manner the same is to be performed, to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The invention herein is directed to the improvement of that class of water closets
in which the contents of the bowl are discharged by a siphon action; and the said
improvements.consist of certain novel parts and combinations of parts whereby the
siphoning action is caused to effect the forcible discharge of the contents from the
bowl; the accidental siphoning of the closet is prevented; to effect the starting of
'the siphon with the use of but a small quantity of water, and to dispense with the
usual trap or weir chamber in the soil pipe, and thus prevent clogging, whon wads
of paper, towels, or similar articles are, through carelessness, ignorance, or malice,
thrown into the closet.
The accompanying drawings illustrate the said several improvements in siphon
water closets, and in which-
Figure 1 shows in section the supply-tank, valves, and parts of the bowl and jet
supply pipes;
Figure 2 is a sectional view of the water-closet bowl, its siphoning, ducts,
discharge branch, and supply pipes ;
Figure 3 is a side view of the water closet bowl showing a modified construction
in which both the bowl and the siphon-jet is supplied by one pipe;
Figure 4 is a rear end view looking in the direction of the arrow, Figure 3; and
Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view showing the modified form of the siphoning-
jet connection with the porcelain bowl seen in Figures 3 and 4.
Referring to Figure-2; A, denotes the bowl of the closet, which may be of any
desired shape consistent with the free discharge of the contents, and at its bottom
this bowl communicates through a trap, a, with the short leg, B, of the discharge
siphon, the long leg, D, of which communicates with the upper end of the short leg
and is bent at right angles at the lower end, so as to form an impact surface and a
lateral discharge branch, E, which is bent downward at its outer end, in order to
communicate with the soil-pipe, F.
The entire structure, comprising the parts, A, a, B, D, and E, may be made in
one piece; or the bowl, A, may be separate; and the parts, a, B, D, and E, may
if desired' be made by pipes, bends, and elbows. properly joined together. Above
the water-closet is the usual supply tank, G, with service box, H, the latter
communicating through a pipe, b, with the flushing rim, g, around the top of the
water-closet bowl, and also through a pipe, f, with the upper end of the long
leg, D, of the siphon. The tank reservoir has two openings, g, and h, through
which it communicates with the service box beneath, and the latter has co-
incident openings, m, and n, through which it communicates respectively with the
bowl and pipes, b, and f. Around each opening is a flange forming a valve seat,
and to the seats around the openings, g, and m, are adapted valves, gl, and m³,
suspended from the operating-lever, J, the valve, 9', closing on the downward
movement, and the valve, m, on the upward movement. To the valve-sents around
the openings, h, and, n, are adapted similar valves, h, and n', likewise suspended
from the lever, J, and operating in the same manner as the valves, g', and m². On
the elevation of the long arm of the lever, therefore, the valves, g, and h will be
lifted; and the-valves, m¼,-and it, closed, the service box being filled with water

page_text: from the reservoir, and on the descent of the long arm of the lever, the upper
valves will be closed and the lower valves opened, so as to permit a flow of water
through the pipes, b, and f. The flow of water from the pipe, f, into the upper end
of the long leg, D, of the siphon, drives the air therefrom and creates a partial
vacuum in said long leg so as to start the siphon and forcibly withdraw the contents
from the bowl, A, while, the flow of water, into the bowl through the pipe, b,
continues long enough to refill said bowl after the contents have been siphoned from
the same, for it will be observed that the service box is divided by a partition, p,
into two chambers, one feeding the pipe, f, and the other, which is somewhat
larger, feeding the pipe, b. The lateral discharge, E, at the lower end of the long
leg, D, of the siphon is of advantage, because the stream of water, striking at, x,
a surface at right angles to the direction of said stream, is caused to be deflected
and splash into the branch, E, and thus carry along through the same the air
carried down from the leg, D, any flow of air back through the branch being
effectually prevented.
r.
It will be observed that the siphoning jet is discharged directly into the upper
end of the long leg and driving the air before it, a partial vacuum is thus instantly
created, with a comparatively small flow of water maintained for a short time;
while the large volume of water is available to fill the bowl after the contents have
been withdrawn from the same by the siphon action.
Referring to Figures 3, 4, and 5, a modification of the closet bowl is shown,
whereby to supply both the bowl and the siphon jet by means of one,pipe, from the
tank, and to dispense with the necessity of trapping this pipe iu the service-box or
reservoir of the closet. In effecting this object the basin-is-constructed with-a
looped pipe, c, which connects, at one end with the supply-pipe, and at its other end
with the long leg of the siphon to form the jet-pipe. This jet forming loop and
pipe, c, d, is preferably formed of the same material as the bowl and the siphon
pipe of the closet, and the loop lies closely to the opposito sides of the siphon pipe
and passes from one side of the same to the other beneath the neck formed where
the short leg, B, of the siphon joins the long leg, D, of the same. From the upper
or inlet portion of the loop, c, a branch, e, extends to the bowl, A, and this branch
communicates with the space behind the flushing-rim, g, of the bowl, and also by
preference, communicates directly with the bowl through a drip passage, i, seen in
Figure 5. When water is first permitted to flow through the supply-pipe, therefore,
a portion of it passes through the loop, c, and supplies the jet-pipe, d, and another
portion passes through tho branch, e, into the flushing-rim of the bowl; so that the
latter is flushed simultaneously with the starting of the siphon by the jet. During
the latter part of the flow, the volume of water is not more than enough to fill the
branch, e, so that it seeks the readiest means of escape by passing through said
branch into the bowl, the action of the jet ceasing so as to permit the latter part of
the flow to fill the trap at the bottom of the bowl. When the flow ceases, the
loop, c, is filled with water up to the level of the bottom of the branch, e, so that it
forms an effective trap or seal for preventing gas from the soil-pipe from gaining
access to and passing into the room or apartment through the supply-pipe or
flushing rim of the bowl. In either construction of the bowl it is important to
notice that the siphon discharge is below the inlet of the flushing jet, and that the
siphon action is set up by the operation of a jet of water entering the upper end of
the long leg of the siphon, and producing a partial vacuum therein, so as to cause
the flow of water from the short leg of the siphon into the long leg
In the construction shown in Figure 1, the trap in the soil-pipe is dispensed with
and the jet pipe is trapped in the service-box or reservoir, in order to prevent the
escape of sewer-gas into the room or apartment containing the closet.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is 'to be performed, I declare that what I
claim, is-:-
1. The combination of a water-closet howl and its siphon-ducts, a water pipe

page_text: discharging a jet into the long leg of a siphon, and a lateral discharge branch, the
bottom of which does not extend above the bottom of the said leg, whereby an
impact surface is formed adjacent to the inlet of the discharge branchi, said surface
being substantially at right angles to the direction of the jet descending the long
leg of the siphon, for the purpose set forth.
2. The combination of the water-closet bowl and its siphoning ducts, the
reservoir having a service-box divided into two compartments, one of which is
smaller than the other, and pipes whereby the contents of the smaller compartment
are directed to the long leg of the siphon and the contents of the larger com-
partment to the bowl, for the purpose stated.
3. The combination of the bowl of a water-closet, with a discharge pipe.
comprising long and short siphoning-ducts, and a water-pipe at the top of the long
duct, the short duct opening into the long duct below said water-pipe and vertically
to one side thereof, for the purpose stated.
4. The combination of the bowl and its siphon-discharge-pipe with a single water
supply-pipe leading from the reservoir and terminating in a trapped loop dis-
charging into the upper end of the long leg of the siphon, said loop having a branch
located below the upper bend of the trap and extending to the flushing-ring of the
bowl, substantially as specified.
5. The combination of the bowl and its siphon discharge-pipe with a single water
supply-pipe leading from the reservoir and terminating in a trapped loop fitting
the siphon discharge-pipe on each side and crossing beneath the neck of said pipe,
said trapped loop discharging into the top of the long leg of the siphon, and having
below the upper bend a branch extending to the flushing-ring of the bowl,
substantially as described.
Dated this 11th day of August 1891
JENSEN & SON,
77, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Patent Agents.