IMPROVEMENTS IN EARTH CLOSETS OR COMMODES
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Thomas Gibson, of Clapham Junction,
in the County of Surrey, Joiner, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN EARTH CLOSETS OR COMMODES."
Sealed the 23rd January 1874, and dated the 20th November 1873.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Thomas Gibson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 20th November 1873.
I, JOHN THOMAS GIBSON, of Clapham Junction, in the County of
Surrey, Joiner, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN EARTH CLOSETS OR COMMODES," to be as follows:-
This Invention relates more particularly to those closets or commodès
in which earth or other dry pulverulent material is used for deodorizing
the excreta.
"
It has been found in practice that earth closets are subject to many
inconveniences, to wit:-1. The difficulty in regulating to a nicety the
discharging power of the apparatus. 2. The separation of the liquids

page_text: from the solids. 3. Liability of the self-acting discharging apparatus to
get out of order. It is the object of the present Invention to obviate as
much as possible those defects.
In order to effect the separation of the liquids from the solid matters
the pan, which is made with parallel sides sloping slightly backwards,
is divided into two parts, the rear part being left open at the bottom so
that the solid fœcal matter may drop through into the proper receptacle
placed there to receive it; the front part is made in the shape of an
inverted cone with a hole about one and a half inches in diameter in the
bottom. This small pan is intended to receive the urine which passes
down the hole in the bottom and finds its way by a suitable pipe to the
drains. This pan may also be utilized for pouring away slops or other
liquids that it is necessary, to get rid of. For this purpose the seat is
hinged so that it may be lifted up in order that access may be more
convenientley obtained to this part of the apparatus.
.
The self-acting delivery of the pulverized deodorizing matters is
extremely simple, and may be operated either by a board on which to
place the feet, or by the seat (which is hinged as before mentioned), or
both act simultaneously. The seat and the footboard are both attached
to or made to operate on the same lever, so that when either the seat or the
footboard is depressed, the lever to which they are attached is raised at
the opposite end. This action causes the hopper (which is contained in
the back of the apparatus) to be moved forward and the shoot down
which the earth falls to be raised. The hopper then delivers into the shoot
the requisite amount of deodorizing matter (such as dry earth, ashes, or
charcoal), and the apparatus is now ready to discharge the deodorizing
material on to the foecal matter. While the apparatus is in this position
the shoot is hidden from view, being (for the time) raised above the level
of the bottom of the rear side of the pan.
When the seat and foot board are released from the weight that
is pressing upon them, the rear end of the lever to which they are
attached is allowed to drop or is carried down by counterweights;
the hopper then resumes its normal position and cuts off from the
shoot any further supply of earth, and the shoot is lowered to an
angle of about 45 degrees and the deodorizing material is thrown down

page_text: on to the focal matter, thereby preventing any offensive smell arising
therefrom.
The hopper is made in such a way that the amount of deodorizing
material to be thrown down each time may be regulated to a. nicety.
This is effected by the front side of the hopper being hinged at its top,
so that the lower end can swing backwards and forwards. This
swinging side is prevented from allowing the deodorizing material to
escape by means of a cross piece which passes from one side to the
other of the hopper, and through which is a hole into which is inserted
a thumbscrew, and as this thumbscrew is screwed in or out so does the
swinging side of the hopper enlarge or diminish the opening at the
bottom of the hopper, and allow more or less (as may be desired) of the
deodorizing material to escape into the shoot when the seat and foot-
board are depressed.
.
The chamber to contain the pulverized deodorizing material is
provided with a hinged, top opening over the seat, so that when the
chamber is being filled the material will be prevented from falling on to
the seat, but if spilled will fall on to the open flap and will be thrown
into the receptacle or chamber when the flap is closed.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Thomas Gibson in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 20th May 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
THOMAS GIBSON, of Clapham Junction, in the. County of Surrey, Joiner,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in- the
thirty-seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said John Thomas Gibson, Her
special licence that I, the said John. Thomas Gibson, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John
Thomas Gibson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at

page_text: :
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 EARTH CLOSETS OR COMMODES," upon. the
condition (amongst others), that I, the said John Thomas Gibson, 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 John Thomas Gibson, 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 Drawing here-
unto annexed; and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is
to say) :-
This Invention relates to that class of closets or commodes in
which earth, or other dry pulverulent material is used for deodorizing 2
the excreta.
It has been found in practice that earth closets are subject to many
inconveniences, to wit:-(1). The difficulty in regulating to a nicety the
'discharging power of the apparatus. (2). The difficulty of separating
the liquids from the solids. (3). The liability of the self-acting 2
discharging apparatus to get out of order. It is the object of the present
Invention to obviate as much as possible these defects.
.
In the accompanying Drawing I have shewn views of an improved
arrangement of apparatus whereby this object may be effected.
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of a portable earth closet or 3
'chamber commode constructed according to my Invention; Fig. 2. is a
horizontal section or plan view of the same; Fig. 3' is a longitudinal
vertical section of another earth closet constructed in precisely the same
manner as that shewn at Figures 1 and 2, but in this instance the closet
is made a fixture and some of the parts are modified accordingly.
In order to effect the separation of the liquids from the solid matters
:
3

page_text: ·
the pan a, which is made with parallel sides sloping slightly backwards,
is divided into two parts, the rear part being left open at the bottom, as
shewn in the Drawing at a*, so that the solid fecal matters may drop
through into the proper receptacle which may be either in the form
5 of a portable box, as at 6 (Fig. 1), or it may consist of a rotating
chamber 6* in Fig. 2. The front part a¹ of the pan is made in the
shape of an inverted cone with a hole a² about one and a half inches
in diameter in the bottom. This small pan is intended to receive the
urine which passes down the hole in the bottom and finds its way by
O a suitable pipe c to the drains. In Fig. 3 the pipe c is permanently
connected with the drain pipe d, whereas in Fig. 1 the urine runs from
the pan a¹ into a vessel c¹ suspended in the box b, and if desired the
vessel may be temporarily connected with the drain pipe. The
part a¹ of the pan a may also be utilized for pouring away slops or other
liquids which it is necessary to get rid of. For this purpose the seat e
as well as the cover or lid ƒ is hinged at the back, so that it may be
lifted up in order that access may be more conveniently obtained to the
part a' of the apparatus.
It will also be seen that the back part of the pan is made nearly
vertical so that there is but little risk of it being soiled when the closet
or commode is used, and moreover as the back part of the pan is carried
down as far as the front part it will act as a guard or shield to prevent
any dust from rising up and becoming deposited on the seat, as is now
the case with pans in which the back part is cut
away.
The self-acting delivery of the pulverized decolorizing matters is
extremely simple, and may be operated either by a board on which to
place the feet as at 9, or by the seat e (which is hinged as before
-mentioned), or both may be made to act simultaneously or in com-
bination, which is the arrangement I prefer to use and is shewn in the
Drawing. The seat e and the footboard g are both connected by means
of upright bars h (of which there is one on each side, as shewn at Fig. 2)
and are made to operate on the same horizontal lever or levers i, so that
when either the seat or the footboard is depressed the levers i, with
which they are connected, are raised at the opposite end into the
position shewn at Fig. 3 and as indicated by dots in Fig. 1. These
levers turn on centres shewn by dots in Figures 1 and 8, and are
connected at their outer ends to the vertical rods h, while their inner

page_text: ends are connected by links to a pair of rocking levers ; fixed on the
horizontal rocking bar j¹ as their centre of motion; on this bar j¹ is fixed
a shallow iron tray k which of course rocks with it, and to the forward
end of this tray is attached a tumbling shoot k¹.
When the forward ends of the horizontal levers i are depressed, and i
the inner ends are thereby elevated, the link 2, rocking lever j, the
horizontal rocking bar j¹, with the tray k and shoot k³, are brought into
the position shewn in Fig. 3, and indicated by dots in Fig. 1. This
action causes the moveable hopper 7 (which is contained in the back of
the apparatus) to be moved forward, as shewn at Fig. 3, and by dots
at Fig. 1, thereby causing the shoot ¹ (down which the earth is
discharged on to the soil) to be raised. The hopper then delivers into
the shoot the requisite amount of deodorizing matter (such as dry
earth, ashes, or charcoal) and the apparatus is now ready to discharge
'the deodorizing material on to the fœcal matter.
While the apparatus
is in this position the shoot ¹ is hidden from view, being (for the time)
raised above the level of the bottom of the rear side of the pan a,
which at the back part extends nearly as deep as the front part, and
consequently hides from view the shoot k¹ which works behind it.
When the seat e and footboard 9 are released from the weight that is
pressing upon them the rear ends of the levers i to which they are
attached are allowed to drop or are carried down by counterweights as
at *, the hopper / then resumes its normal position (shewn at Fig. 1)
and by lifting up the tray k, and lever j, into the horizontal position,
cuts off from the shoot any further supply of earth, and at the same
time the shoot is lowered to an angle of about forty-five degrees (as
shewn at Fig. 1), and the deodorizing material is thrown down on to the
.focal matter in the box b, thereby preventing any offensive smell from
arising therefrom.
The hopper is made in such a way that the amount of deodorizing
material to be thrown down each time may be regulated to a nicety.
This is effected by the front side & of the hopper being hinged at its top,
so that the lower end can swing backwards and forwards. This swinging
side is kept in place and its position regulated by means of an adjust-
ment consisting of a cross piece m which, passes from one side to the
other of the hopper 7, and through which is a hole into which is inserted
a thumbscrew, and as this thumbscrew is screwed in or out so does the

page_text: swinging side of the hopper enlarge or diminish the opening at the
bottom of the hopper, and thus allow more or less (as may be desired)
of the deodorizing material to escape into the shoot /¹ when the seat e
and the footboard are depressed. The quantity of deodorizing material
to be used each time can therefore be regulated with great accuracy.
The fixed chamber n to contain the pulverized deodorizing material is
provided with a hinged top n¹ opening over the seat, as shown by dots in
Fig. 1, so that when the chamber n is being filled the material will be
prevented from falling on to the seat e, but if spilled will fall on to the
open flap and will be thrown into the receptacle or chamber when the
'flap n¹ is closed.
It will now be understood that in Fig. 1 the solid excreta are dropped
into the portable-box 6, Fig. 1, which is placed under the seat to receive
the droppings, and may be removed from time to time and emptied.
=
In Fig. 3, however, the corresponding receptacle 6* is made in the
form of a horizontal barrel which is open at the top side and is provided
at each end with pivots, whereby it is supported in bearings from which
it may be lifted when required. The under side of this barrel fits on
the open end of a fixed discharge pipe p into which the contents of the
barrel 6* can be discharged from time to time by causing the barrel to
rotate on its centres, to which end a toothed wheel q (shewn by dots in
Fig. 3), is keyed on to the axle of the barrel and is made to gear into
another toothed wheel on the axle of which is fixed a hand lever s
whereby it may be rotated.
If preferred the barrel may be rotated by causing a sector rack at the
end of a lever to gear into the toothed wheel q. This sector rack may
be actuated by means of a handle and link extending up through the
seat.
Having now described my Invention of "Improvements in Earth
Closets or Commodes," and having explained the manner of carrying the
same into effect, I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters
Patent, the general construction and arrangement of parts herein set
forth constituting an earth closet or commode, in which the supply of
the deodorizing material is capable of being regulated with accuracy and
cannot be discharged until the user has released both the seat and the
footboard, thereby preventing waste or undue or extravagant use of the

page_text: deodorizer. I claim also constructing the pan and combining the same.
with the moveable seat, as and for the purposes herein set forth, and
also combining the seat and footboard with the mechanism for working
the hopper and discharging apparatus, as and for the purposes herein
set forth..
In witness whereof, I, the said John Thomas Gibson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Nineteenth day of May, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
ลงท