IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO THE LIDS OR COVERS OF CHAMBER UTENSILS, NIGHT COMMODES, WATERCLOSET SEATS, AND THE LIKE, FOR PREVENTING THE ESCAPE OF EFFLUVIA
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Stephen Dixon, of Nottingham, for the Inven-
tion of "IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO THE LIDS OR COVERS OF CHAMBER
UTENSILS, NIGHT COMMODES, WATERCLOSET SEATS, AND THE LIKE, FOR
PREVENTING THE ESCAPE OF EFFLUVIA."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Stephen Dixon at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
20th August 1875.
I, STEPHEN DIXON, of Nottingham, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO THE LIDS OR COVERS OF
CHAMBER UTENSILS, NIGHT COMMODES, WATERCLOSET SEATS, AND THE LIKE, FOR
PREVENTING THE ESCAPE OF EFFLUVIA," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to chamber utensils, night commodes, slop
pails, and other receptacles used for similar purposes, with lids or covers
so constructed and fitted to their place, and so provided with means for
making them perfectly tight thereon that it will be impossible when the

page_text: such articles or receptacles, and thereby the same when in use will be
rendered quite inoffensive, no matter how long their contents may be
kept.
The said Invention will therefore be of great utility for hospital
purposes, in cases of sickness in households, in nurseries, on board ships,
or in tents, in cases where analysises have to be made, and in all other
cases where such articles, utensils, or receptacles have to be used.
My said Invention is carried into practice for chamber utensils and
commodes by the use of a packing ring of india-rubber or other suitable
material so placed upon the cover or rim or seat that when the said
cover is put on the india-rubber will be pressed tightly into or upon the
rim or seat and between the same and the cover, so that it will form a
tight joint, through which no effluvia or gas can escape. The said india-
rubber or other ring may be flat, circular, concave, tubular, or of any
other form in transverse section, and may be placed upon a plain rim of
the cover formed to enter the utensil or the pan of the commode; or it
may be fitted under a flange or rim, and lie flat between the same and
on the top surface of the utensil or commode; or it may be fitted in a
groove or channel formed around the cover, or the article or receptacle
to which the said cover belongs.
In some instances I fit the packing or joint ring upon an adjusting
metal ring, which is fitted within the rim of the cover, and is provided
with a screw or other means whereby the said ring may be tightened
and slackened when the cover is in place; or I may use other devices
whereby the india-rubber or other ring may be caused to press very
tightly against the surfaces between which it is placed to ensure a tight
joint between these surfaces, with a capability of slackening it to
permit the ready removal or opening of the said lid or cover.
I may make the lids or cover of the utensils or receptacles to which
my Invention is applied of wood, metal, earthenware, or other suitable
material, and of any desired form; they may be fitted removably upon
the utensils or receptacles, or may be hinged thereon; and my Invention
may be readily adapted to night commodes and other articles or utensils
already in use.
The application of my said Invention is effected in substantially the

page_text: same manner to watercloset seats and to other receptacles whose
contents would emit offensive and injurious odours under ordinary
circumstances.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Stephen Dixon in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 19th February 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, STEPHEN
DIXON, of Nottingham, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of August, in tho
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in the
thirty-ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Stephen Dixon, Her special
licence, that I, the said Stephen Dixon, my executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Stephen Dixon, 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 RELATING TO THE LIDS OR COVERS OF CHAMBER UTENSILS, NIGHT
COMMODES, WATERCLOSET SEATS, AND THE LIKE, FOR PREVENTING THE ESCAPE
OF EFFLUVIA," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Stephen Dixon, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands 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 Stephen Dixon, 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, reference being had to the accompanying
Drawing forming a part of this Specification :-

page_text: This Invention relates to chamber utensils, night commodes, slop
pails, and other receptacles used for similar purposes, with lids or covers
so constructed and fitted to them, and so provided with means for
making them perfectly tight thereon that it will be impossible when
the said lids are properly put on for any effluvia or foul gases to escape
from such articles or receptacles, and thereby the same when in use will
be rendered quite inoffensive, no matter how long their contents may
be kept.
The said Invention will therefore be of great utility for hospital
purposes, in cases of sickness in households, in nurseries, on board ship,
or in tents, in cases where analyses have to be made, and in all other
cases where such articles, utensils, or receptacles have to be used.
My said Invention is carried into practice by the use of a packing
ring of india-rubber or other suitable material so combined with the
cover or rim or seat and with adjusting devices herein-after described
that when the said cover is put on the india-rubber or other ring may
be pressed tightly into or upon the rim or seat and between the same
and the cover, so that it will form a tight joint through which no effluvia
or gas can escape. The said india-rubber or other ring may be flat,
circular, concave, tubular, or of any other form in transverse section.
It is necessary that the said india-rubber or other ring should be
provided with means whereby it may be contracted and expanded, so
that in closing the lid or cover the said ring will enter without obstruc-
tion or difficulty the upper portion of the pan or utensil, and may then
be expanded to tightly fit the same. I therefore employ the devices
illustrated in the Drawing, of which Figure 1 is a central vertical section
of a chamber utensil to which my Invention is applied; Figure 2 is a
similar section illustrating a modification of my Invention.
The body a of this utensil may be of the usual form and material, and
the cover b may be of the same material, and of suitable shape to conform
to the general configuration or pattern of the said utensil. The india-
rubber or other packing or joint ring c is placed upon an adjusting disc or
ring d of wood or non-corrosive metal or other suitable material, which
is fitted within the rim of the cover. The said disc d has a flange d³,
and the india-rubber ring lies between this flange and the cover. The
central part or boss of this disc or ring is tapped with a screw thread,
and the cover is provided with a screw. e, which fits the said boss. The

page_text: stem of the said screw passes up through the top of the cover, and is
provided with a knob or handle. e¹, whereby the said screw may be
manipulated, and by turning this handle the disc or ring d may be
drawn close to the cover, thereby causing the india-rubber to bulge or
expand and fit tightly against the interior of the pan or utensil, and
prevent the
escape of any odour from the same while the cover is thus
kept tight; but when it is desired to remove the cover the pressure of
the india-rubber may be relaxed by simply turning the said screw in the
opposite direction. The part of the screw stem immediately outside of
the cover is provided with an india-rubber or other suitable washer ƒ to
prevent any escape of effluvia from the hole through which the said
stem passes. I may use other devices in combination with a screw,
whereby the india-rubber or other ring may be caused to press very
tightly against the surfaces between which it is placed to ensure a tight
joint between these surfaces for preventing the escape of effluvia from
the vessel or utensil, and which have a capability of slackening the said
ring to permit the ready removal or opening of the said lid or cover.
I sometimes use the modification of my Invention illustrated in
Figure 2, in which g is a tube of india-rubber or other like material fitted
in a groove in the flange 1 of the cover b, and which when the cover is
properly placed on the utensil makes a tight joint.
I make the lid or cover of the utensils or receptacles to which my
Invention is applied of wood, metal, earthenware, or other suitable
material, and of any desired form; and in cases where the utensils or
vessels are to be used in hospitals or sick rooms the cover may be made
of glass or partly of glass to facilitate the inspection of their contents.
The said lid or cover may be separate or removable upon the utensil or
receptacle, or may be hinged thereon, and my Invention may be readily
adapted to night commodes and other articles or utensils already in use
for sanitary and similar purposes.
The application of my said Invention is effected in substantially the
same manner to watercloset seats and to other receptacles whose
contents would emit offensive and injurious odours under ordinary
circumstances.
Having thus fully described my said Invention, and shewn how the
same may be conveniently and advantageously carried into practice, I
wish it understood that for the purpose of tightly closing or sealing and

page_text: preventing the escape of effluvia from a chamber utensil, night commode,
or similar vessel or apparatus, I claim,—
First. The device consisting of a ring or band of india-rubber or other
elastic material supported upon and surrounding a disc or flange which
enters the vessel or utensil to be closed, and is arranged in combination
with a screw projecting through the top of the said lid or cover, which
screw is operated or adjusted to expand or contract the said elastic ring
or band, as above described.
Second. The modification of my Invention illustrated in Figure 2 of
the Drawing, and as above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Stephen Dixon, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of February, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-six.
STEPHEN DIXON. (L.S.)
Witness,
HENRY AULSEBROOK.