IMPROVE- MENTS IN WATERCLOSETS."
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Simpson, of Tottenham Court Road, in
the County of Middlesex, Builder, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN WATERCLOSETS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Simpson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
17th January 1872.
I, SAMUEL SIMPSON, of Tottenham Court Road, in the County of
Middlesex, Builder, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN WATERCLOSETS," to be as follows:-
·
The object of my Invention of improvements in waterclosets is to
prevent the escape of noxious effluvia from the soil pipes of waterclosets
through the pan or closet apparatus into the house. This is generally
occasioned by the difference of pressure in the pan or trap to that
existing in the soil pipe, the effect of which inequality of pressure is,
that the water is drawn or forced out of the trap so as to leave the
syphon or lower end of the trap pipe open and exposed, and thus allow

page_text: of the gases from the soil pipe escaping through the trap into the house.
To obviate this evil I adapt to the chamber or container below the seat
pan a pipe or channel which I will call the equilibrium pipe. It is
connected by its other end to the soil pipe, and both ends of this equi-
librium pipe or channel are open so that the pressure of air on the water
above the trap must always be the same as the pressure in the soil pipe.
It will therefore be impossible for any partial vacuum or rarefaction of
the air in the soil pipe to suck or draw out the water in the trap, and
thus uncover the syphon or lower end of the trap pipe which dips in the
water in the trap.
The equilibrium pipe or channel may, if desired, be connected by a
branch to a ventilating pipe which extends from the lower end of the
soil pipe to the outside of the roof of the house.
Or
In order to prevent any gas or smell from escaping through the equi-
librium pipe when the moveable pan is emptied by pulling up the handle
the moveable pan is provided on its outer side with a pad or block of
rubber, gutta percha, or other suitable slightly yielding and soft material,
which when the pan is opened to discharge its contents is brought
against the open end of the equilibrium pipe and closes the same.
the end of the equilibrium pipe may be provided at its end with a rubber
buffing ring for the moveable pan to strike against when it is opened.
The chamber or container below the seat pan (and communicating with
the trap or syphon) is usually constructed of metal, and as the soil is
discharged into it from the moveable pan it soon becomes foul and
offensive, and cannot casily be cleaned. To prevent this I enamel the
inside of this chamber so that there will be but little tendency for the
soil to adhere thereto, and should any do so it may be easily washed off.

page_text: WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Seventeenth day of January, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in the thirty-
fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Samuel Simpson, Her special licence
that I, the said Samuel Simpson, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said Samuel Simpson, 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
WATERCLOSETS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said
Samuel Simpson, 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 Samuel Simpson, 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 Drawings hereunto
annexed, and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to
say) :—
The object of my Invention of "Improvements in Waterclosets," is
to prevent the escape of noxious effluvia from the soilpipes of water-
closets through the pan or closet apparatus into the house. This is
generally occasioned by the difference of pressure in the pan or trap to
that existing in the soil pipe, the effect of which inequality of pressure
is that the water is drawn or forced out of the trap so as to leave the
syphon or lower end of the trap pipe open and exposed, and thus allow
of the gases from the soil pipe escaping through the trap into the house.
To obviate this evil I adapt to the chamber or container below the seat
pan a pipe or channel which I will call the equilibrium pipe. It is con-
nected by its other end to the soil pipe, and both ends of this equilibrium
pipe or channel are open so that the pressure of air on the water above
the trap must always be the same as the pressure in the soil pipe, it will

page_text: therefore be impossible for any partial vacuum or rarefaction of the air
in the soil pipe to suck or draw out the water in the trap, and thus
uncover the syphon or lower end of the trap pipe which dips in the
water in the trap.
"
In the accompanying Drawings I have shewn two forms of water-
closet apparatus constructed according to my Invention, or with my
improvements adapted thereto.
Fig. 1 is a vertical section of one arrangement of parts, and which
may be called the moveable pan arrangement; Fig. 2 is a similar view
of a closet in which the discharge aperture of the seat pan is closed by
a valve.
In Fig. 1, a, a, is the seat pan provided with the ordinary moveable
pan a*, and b, b, is the chamber or container below the seat pan, and
in which the latter is fitted and supported in an air-tight seat; c, c, is
the syphon into which the soil is discharged from the chamber or con-
tainer b. A syphon pipe d conducts the soil and water from the syphon c
to the down pipe e, usually called the soil pipe, to another syphon f
connected with the house drain. A pipe g, called the equilibrium pipe,
is connected by one end with the chamber or container c, and by the
other end with a vertical pipe 9* which is connected at its lower end
with the downward soil pipe e.
The equilibrium pipe or channel g may, if desired, be connected by a
branch to a ventilating pipe, such as that shewn at g* in the Drawing,
and which may be extended down to the lower end of the soil pipe e and
upwards to the outside of the roof of the house.
In order to prevent any gas or smell from escaping through the equi-
librium pipe g when the moveable pan a* is emptied by pulling up the
handle, the moveable pan a* is either provided on its outer side with a
pad or block of rubber, gutta percha, or other suitable slightly yielding
and soft material, which when the pan is opened to discharge its contents
is brought against the open end of the equilibrium pipe g and closes
the same. Or the equilibrium pipe may, as shewn in the Drawing, be
provided at its end with a rubber buffing ring h for the moveable pan a*
to strike against when it is opened, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1.
The chamber or container 6 below the scat pan a (and communicating
with the trap or syphon c) is usually constructed of metal, and as the
soil is discharged into it from the moveable pan it soon becomes foul

page_text: and offensive and cannot easily be cleaned. To prevent this I enamel
the inside of this chamber so that there will be but little tendency for
the soil to adhere thereto, and should any do so, it may be easily washed
off.
In Fig. 2, a is the soil pan; a* the valve, which closes the exit
opening; 6 is a box or chamber containing the valve, and is equivalent
to the chamber or container 6 of Fig. 1. Upon opening the valve a*
by pulling up the handle the contents of the pan a will be discharged
direct into the syphon c below, and from there will pass down the branch
pipe d to the soil pipe e as in the former instance; g is the equilibrium
pipe connected at one end to the box 6, and at the other to the vertical
ventilating pipe g*. The spindle or axle i of the valve a*, and also the
spindle or axle of the moveable pan a* in Fig. 1, passes out through
an opening made for the purpose in the side of the box or chamber 6,
and provided with a stuffing box or bearing as shewn detached at the
sectional view, Fig. 3, of the container, and in end view and plan at Figs. 4.
In ordinary watercloset apparatus this axle is merely passed through a
hole cast in the container, and which is afterwards plugged with putty
or cement to keep it air-tight. This putty or cement, however, very
frequently breaks away and allows noxious effluvia from the container 6
to escape. To obviate this a square hole is cut in the edge of the con-
tainer and a brass bearing or plummer block m made in two halves is
fixed therein. The inner end of the axle / turns in a step n, Fig. 3, and
when the other end of the axle is supported in the lower half of the
bearing m the upper half is placed thereto and secured by means of
screws, as shewn in the Drawing, so as to form a perfectly air-tight joint.
By arranging the parts in this manner I am enabled to fit up and work
the moving parts and see that they are in working order before securing
the lid or cover of the container 6 in its place.
'
The pan a is supplied with water in the usual manner by the pipe i,
and the overflow runs off into the small syphon pipe j which is connected
at its lower end to the box or chamber b. In the event of rarefaction
of air taking place in the box 6 or the syphon c, the water in the syphon
pipe j would be sucked out. This latter is therefore provided with a
small supply pipe & connected at one end with the water pipe i and at the
other with the syphon pipe j, so that whenever the pan a is supplied
with water from the pipe i, a small quantity will flow down the pipe k
into the syphon pipe j, and seal it, as shown in the Drawing. It will

page_text: now be seen that whenever a rarefaction of air takes place in the soil
pipe e in either of the arrangements shown, so as to cause a tendency
to suck or draw off the water from the syphon c, and thus unseal the
discharge end of the pipe c* of the chamber or box b, an equilibrium of
pressure will be established in the box or chamber 6 through the pipe g,
and therefore the water can never be drawn out of the syphon c by
suction.
Having now described my Invention of "Improvements in Water-
closets," and having explained the manner of carrying the same into
effect, I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent as
aforesaid, the adaptation to the closed chamber below the seat pan of
waterclosets of a pipe or channel of communication between such
chamber and the soil pipe, so that the pressure in the closed chamber
and in the soil pipe may be kept in equilibrio, as herein set forth.
I also claim mounting the spindle or axle of the moveable pan or
valve in air-tight bearings adapted to the closed chamber or container,
so that the escape of effluvia therefrom may be effectually prevented.
I further claim constructing the said box or chamber with a vitreous
or enamelled surface, so that the soil will be prevented from adhering
thereto, or may be easily washed off should any adhere.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Simpson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Sixteenth day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two.