CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN WATER-CLOSETS AND OTHER CONVENIENCES OF THE KIND
Year: 1838

page_text: SWINBURNE'S SPECIFICATION.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
SWINBURNE, of South Square, Gray's Inn, Esquire, send grecting.
"
14
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Thirteenth day of September, in the second year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Thomas Swinburne, Her especial license, that I, the said Thomas. Swinburne,
my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Thomas
Swinburne, my exors, admors, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and
no others, from time to time and at all times during the term of years therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also within
all Her Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention of "CERTAIN
IMPROVEMENTS IN WATER-CLOSETS AND OTHER CONVENIENCES OF THE KIND
which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso obliging me, the said
Thomas Swinburne, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal,
particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the, same, is to be performed, and to cause the same to be
enrolled in; Her Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent, as in and by
the same, reference being thereto had, will more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Thomas Swinburne, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner of which the same is to be performed is described and ascer-
tained as follows, that is to say:—
My said Invention consists in adapting to conveniences means for keeping
each deposit of soil in, or putting the same into, and keeping it in a state more
favourable than it otherwise would be for the suppression of its effluvia, by the
application of loose ashes, charcoal, sand, chalk, common earth, or sawdust, and
for applying such materials or other suitable loose solid materials thereto for
that purpose, and in such manner that a deposit of the same as so applied may
be made to take take place on each occasion of using the convenience or other-
wise when desired. The means by which my said Invention may be carried
into effect may be understood by reference to the accompanying Drawing and
following description, that is to say:-
Figure 1 represents a transverse section of a privy having my said im-
provements applied to it; Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of the same.
a is a sort of funnel, made of metal or other suitable material, placed in the
front of the seat, which is properly cut to receive it; the inner edge of this
vessel should be made somewhat lower than the outer edge, its purpose being
to receive and pass away the urine without suffering it to come in contact with
the soil. I call it an urinal, and it should communicate with some receiving
vessel (other than the soil receptacle), as shewn in the Figure, or with a pipe
communicating with the sewer, as indicated in the Figure by the red lines.
It may be either moveable or fixed, and if fixed may be made to form part
of b, which is a vessel of metal or other suitable material, placed under the
seat for the purpose of receiving the soil. This vessel I call a receiver. c is
a tube leading from a reservoir, charged with ashes or other such materials
as aforesaid, and placed immediately over a shoot leading into the receiver b;
the mouth of c is closed by a weighted hinged lip, somewhat larger than the
mouth of c, to prevent escape of the matter with which c is charged. This lip
is worked by a cord d and ring. On using this convenience the urine may be
easily directed into the urinal, and the soil will fall into the receiver 6 by
itself. Immediately after the soil has fallen the cord d should be pulled up
and returned, which will cause a deposit of ashes or other matter contained
in c to fall into the receiver b. The bottom of the receiver 6 is formed by a
weighted valve, communicating either immediately or otherwise with an ulti-
mate receptacle e, and the valve should project a little beyond the aperture in
order to prevent the escape of the ashes or other loose matter. The purpose
of the receiver 6 being to keep the soil in contact with the ashes or other

page_text: such materials as aforesaid, it should not be emptied till necessary, when its
contents may be discharged into e, by drawing up the cord f actuating the
valve. The above constructions is suitable for privies, but it may also be
applied to portable conveniences of various forms; in that case, however, there
will be no receptacle (e), and it would be better to substitute a slide for the
valve in the vessel (b), which, of course, must then be moveable, and the sides
or back of the apparatus should be so constructed as to form a reservoir for
the ashes or such other materials as aforesaid.
But I shall now proceed to describe a construction which I think will
answer better for conveniences of this kind. Figure 3 is an elevation of a
cylindrical convenience of this kind, which may be supposed to be made of
iron or zinc plate; Figure 4 is a top view of the same, with the upper cover
removed; Figure 5 is a section of the same. g is a broad cylindrical ring
concentric with the outer sides of the convenience, to which it is attached by
means of stays; h, i is another broad ring, moving freely within the ring g
and reaching down to the pan j, but capable of being set higher or lower by
means of the regulating screws k, k, so as to widen or contract the aperture
between its lower edge and the conical pan j, and through which aperture the
ashes or other such materials as aforesaid are to flow into the panj from the
reservoir 1, 1. This aperture being adjusted according to the nature and finc-
ness of the materials used, is to be left open, as the materials in the reservoir
will cease to flow after forming a layer over the pan. The pan should be of
such slope that the ashes or other such materials as aforesaid may flow
freely down it. The bottom of the pan is formed by a weighted clack valve,
the mouth of which having no flange extends a little beyond the side of
the pan to prevent escape of the ashes or other materials contained in pan.
n is an urinal, which is placed partly in an aperture made in the ring g,
and partly in a fixed trumpet-mouthed tube o, communicating with a vessel
placed in a compartment in the lower part of the convenience, as shown
in the Drawing, and which vessel may be removed when requisite through
the door p. To make this convenience ready for use, the upper cover only
has to be lifted, the pan being always properly charged. After use the valve
is to be opened by pulling up the cord q, which runs through a fixed upright
tube passing through the reservoir l, when the soil, with the layer of ashes or
other matter on which it rests, will pass into the receiver r; the return of the
cord will close the valve, and the materials in the reservoir will form a fresh
layer over the pan. When it becomes requisite to free the receiver r* of its
contents, it is only necessary to withdraw the circular swivel plate t through
the semicircular shot s. To charge the reservoir 1, 1, the top with its lower

page_text: attached cover should be lifted. This construction, it is obvious, may also
be adapted to fixed conveniences.
I shall now proceed to shew in what manner my said improvement may be
carried into effect in water-closets, that is, closets in which a bed of water is
provided within a basin for the reception of the soil. Figure 6 is a section
of a closet, with an ordinary basin and pan; v is the 'container, the neck of
which is somewhat longer than usual, and' is set sloping towards the back
of the container, and that part of the container against which the pan dis-
charges, as also the lower side of the neck, instead of being closed as usual,
is grated longitudinally; this grating w is shewn in Figure 7, which is a
front view, taken from the inside, the ribs and interstices of the grating being
each about one eighth of an inch wide. This grating is enclosed by an outer
covering (a), standing out from the grating an inch or so at the top, and
widening towards the bottom to three or four inches. y is a slide, working in
grooves, for the purpose of opening and closing the container. The bottom of
the covering x is so inclined that it will pass away any fluid passing through
the grating down a pipe z. The service of water should be so regulated that it
can come on only when the slide is down; this may be effected by connecting
the rod 1, by means of cranks and wires with a service box furnished with a
shoe and spindle valve, that is, two valves, one closed towards the cistern, and
the other open towards the closet, and which valves are so connected that the
closing of the valve towards the closet by drawing up the rod 1 will cause the
one towards the cistern to open, and the return of the rod will open the one
towards the closet and close the one towards the cistern. After use of this
closet, the pan being discharged by the usual apparatus, the fluid part of its
contents will pass away through the grating w, and immediately run off by the
pipe 3, and the whole or nearly so of the other matter will fall against the
slide, which, after the pan has been returned, may be drawn up by the rod (1);
the soil will then fall into the receiver. On the return of the rod 1, the stud on
the side of the rod will press the shorter weighted arm of the small lever, and
thereby draw the weighted lip away from the mouth of the tube 3, leading
from a reservoir charged with ashes or other such materials as aforesaid,
when a'deposit of such materials will fall into the receiver 2. The further
return of the rod will disengage the stud' from the lever, when the weighted
lip will fall back again over the mouth of the tube 3. The contents of the
receiver 2 may be discharged when requisite by pulling up the cord con-
nected with the clack valve, which may communicate, either immediately or
otherwise, with any ultimate receptacle. I have thought it fit that the detailed

page_text: exemplification of the means of effecting my said improvements as regards
water-closets should relate to the species of closet in' most common use, called
the plan-closet. The same means may obviously be applied, and with great
gain of commodiousness, to the closet commonly known as the valve-closet. I
have 'enumerated various materials which may be employed-for suppressing the
effluvia of the soil. The drier such materials are the better; they should,
of course," be in a loose incoherent state, and in particles sufficiently small to
allow of their flowing easily through the channels provided for them; ashes
are easily obtainable in a proper state, and very effective. There are doubtless
many other materials which would answer the purpose, and I do not mean to
confine myself to those particularly enumerated; chloride of lime or other
disinfecting regents may be mixed with the materials used, should circum-
stances render it advisable.
Having described the nature of my said Invention, and by what means the
same may be carried into effect, I would observe that I do not claim as of my
Invention any of the vessels, utensils, apparatus, or pieces of mechanism
heretofore known and in common use; but I do claim the vessel called the
urinal, whether of the form shewn in the Drawing, or of any other form, as
applied to the purposes of my said Invention. Also the reservoir or reservoirs
before mentioned, capable of containing ashes or other such materials as
aforesaid, as applied to the purposes of my said Invention.
I also claim the grating w, whether of the form shewn in the Drawing, or
any other form, or having any other kind of aperture, howsoever applied, in the
purposes of my said Invention, to separate the aqueous matter from the soil.
And I further claim the duct z, whether of the form shewn in the Drawing,
or of any other form, howsoever applied, in the purposes of my said Invention,
to carry off aqueous matter drained from the soil; for I do not confine myself
to the precise forms of the several matters claimed by me, or to the particular
constructions for effecting my said improvements represented in the Drawing,
as the same may admit of various modifications adapted to the purposes of my
said Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Swinburne, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Thirteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine.
THOMAS (L.S.) SWINBURNE.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Thirteenth day of March, in
the year
of our Lord 1839, the aforesaid Thomas Swinburne came before our
said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.