New or Improved Means for Automatically Flushing Water Closets.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 5th Mar., 1891-Accepted, 11th Apr., 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
New or Improved Means for Automatically Flushing Water
Closets.
1, THOMAS CRAPPER, of the firm of Thomas Crapper & Company, of Marlboro"
Works, Marlborough Road, Chelsea, in the County of Middlesex, Sanitary
Engineer, 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 :-
This invention is designed to be applied to that class of water closet (usually of
the "pedestal" type) wherein the seat is pivotted or hinged and caused by means
of a counterbalance weight or equivalent device to rise when vacated; its object is
to ensure the flushing of the closet after use.
According to my invention I cause the seat as it rises, to operate (preferably by
means of a friction roller projecting from the edge thereof) a trigger lever connected
with a lever arm to which the pull of the flushing cistern valve is attached.
As the seat rises after it is vacated (which I prefer to effect by means of springs)
the said friction roller engages with and depresses the trigger lever, which in turn
depresses the before mentioned lever arm and causes the opening of the valve of the
flushing cistern, the friction roller then slips over the end of and releases the trigger
lever which is returned to its original normal position by the lever arm, actuated
through the pull, by the weight of the valve.
The trigger lever and lever arm are so constructed and arranged as that when it
is desired to use the closet, and the seat is depressed, the friction roller may elevate
the trigger lever sufficiently to slip over the end thereof without actuating the
lever arm.
In the accompanying drawings :-
Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a pedestal water closet having my invention applied.
thereto.
Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section on line 1-2 Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a plan of the underside of Fig. 2.
Fig. 4 is a plan of the trigger lever and lever arm detached, looking from
above.
Fig. 5 is a plan of Fig. 4 partly sectional.
Similar letters refer to corresponding parts in all the figures.
a is the pedestal closet, shewn in dotted lines. is the seat which swings on
pivots c passing through the cheeks d. e is the trigger lever and the lever arin,
each mounted freely upon the pin or axis y. is the friction roller carried by the
pin i secured to the side of the seat b. The boss of the lever arm' is embraced by
a sleeve e (Figs. 4 and 5) carried by the trigger lever e, the lever arm passing
through a slote in the said sleeve which slot is of greater width than the lever
arm The effect of this arrangement is that whilst depression of the trigger
lever e must also cause depression of the lever arin, yet the trigger lever e may be
raised for some distance without moving the lever arm f.
I prefer that the curve of the trigger levere should be of a radius equal to the
distance between the centre lines of a pivot c and the friction roller . k. k are
springs here shewn as of the ordinary door spring class, secured to the shelf which
connects the cheeks d, these springs kk bear upon the rear of the seat band elevate
the same when vacated. m is a convenient rubber buffer. n is the pull of the
flushing valve one end of which is secured to the lever arm f.
The action of the apparatus is as follows:-
In the drawings the seat is represented in its normal or vertical position, when
it is desired to use the closet and the seat is pulled down to a horizontal position

page_text: the friction roller comes into contact with the underside of the trigger levere and
elevates the same sufficiently to pass over the end thereof without moving the lever
arm, as before explained, the trigger lever then drops, back to; its original and
normal position (as shown in the drawings Figure 2) by its own weight. When
the seat bis vacated the springs & cause the same to rise, the friction wheel / comes
into contact with the upper side of the trigger levere and depresses the same, at
the same time depressing the lever arm f, which, through the pull n, opens the valve
and causes the flushing of the closet. Before the seat breaches its vertical position
the friction roller slips from off the end of the trigger lever e which is returned
to its original and normal position by the lever arm operated through the pull n
by the weight of the valve."
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 :-
1. Effecting the automatic flushing of a water closet of the class described upon
the raising of the seat, by means of a trigger lever, operated by the closet seat as it
rises, and connected with a lever arm to which the valve pull is attached substan-
tially as specified.
2. In a water closet of the class described the trigger lever e, lever arm f, and
friction roller or equivalent in combination with the seat thercof, substantially as
and for the purpose described and illustrated by the drawings.
Dated this 5th day of March 1891.
E. P. ALEXANDER & SON, Fels. Inst. P.A.,
19, Southampton Buildings, W.C., Agents.