A Closet with Automatic and Direct Separation of the Fluid and Solid Excrements.
Year: 1888

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A Closet with Automatic and Direct Separation of the Fluid and
Solid Excrements.
1, AUGUST KERSTEN of Hannover Germany Architect 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 :-
The principal object of the closet invented by me is to keep separated the fluid
excrements from the solid ones and to prevent their being mixed, and to lead them
direct, each sort into a separate tank or cesspool. The liquid material can there be
clarified and let off as is the case with water closets, whereas the solid material is
dryed by combining with its tank suitable means of ventilation and by adding to it
drying material. It is thus made scentless and brought in such a form which allows
its convenient transport.
A closet constructed according to my system must answer the following conditions:
1) In order to prevent the throwing into it of other waste than excrements the
use of it shall be more or less troublesome. This is for preventing servants, for
instance, to use it for throwing into it waste from the kitchen.
2) When used the excrements shall be separated and kept separate and the fluid
stuff shall be carried into a separate tube, whilst the dry or half dry stuff shall be
retained at first and shall then be carried into a cesspool intended for it alone.
3) The solid stuffs shall be mixed automatically with some suitable-drying material
to get quite dry and scentless.
On the accompanying drawing a closet constructed according to my system is
shown.
Fig. 1 is a vertical section, the seat open.
" "
23 ">
22
"
33 "
closed.
3 front view partly in section.
2
"
"
"
5
27 22
"1
4 view seen from the top.
27.12
"
"
"
22
partly in section.
The pot A differs from the usual upper part of closets in
form of an inverted hollow cone inclined towards the rear.
ID 11
so far that it has the
This has for its object

page_text: to prevent the solid matter to adhere to the sides of it. It is provided with little
holes a at the front side and with ribs bb surrounding the holes at the bottom and
running upwards in a diverging direction.
At the outside, where the holes a are made in the pot A a branch pipe c is fitted
to it or made in one piece with it, into which a curved, socket pipe e is fixed, which
further down leads into the pipe B of which I shall give particulars below.
The rib I, the holes a and the pipe e cause the greatest part of the fluid matter to
be taken away directly it comes in the pot.
The pot A is fixed on the top of a piece of pipe B which at its lower part branches
in a narrow pipe C and in a wide.one D.
The narrow pipe serves for taking off the fluid excrements and the wide one takes
away the solid excrements.
The upper part of the pipe B is of the shape of half a cylinder with a horizontal.
shaft E through its centre. To this shaft is fixed a cup F, the larger, rear part of
which is made solid and the front part is perforated, forming a sieve.
The edge of the cup fits close to the inner side of the piece B.
position the cup F is a little inclined towards the front.
In its ordinary
A glance at fig. 1 of the drawing will now show that the solid excrements fall on
the solid part of the cup and the fluid ones coming into it, flow off through the
sieve.
Below the cup Fa second seive G is fixed in the front part of the cylinder B which
is also a little inclined towards the front. This will catch such solid parts which may
have gone through the seive of the cup F, and underneath of G a hollow or concave
solid plate H is fixed which directs the fluid matter coming upon it into the
pipe C.
In order to transport the solid excrements lying on the cup F into the tube D the
cup can be turned with the shaft E so that it can take the position shown
by fig. 2.
The turning arrangement is made so, that the turning is done with a certain
velocity and that it is stopped suddenly towards its end and that a certain repercussion
takes place in consequence of which all the material adhering to it is thrown off into
the pipe D.
To prevent the matter sticking to the cup its sides are enamelled or made of glass.--
Now the turning of the cup is connected with and caused by the use of the closet
as follows:
The sitting board I is fixed in hinges K at the back side so that it can be raised or
lowered. In the position for use (fig. 1) its front part is connected with the shaft E
of the cup F by means of the rod I and the levers M as shown; at the right and
left side of E are fixed the arms m with the counter-weights N which are forced into
the position shown, by the use of the closet and in which position they remain only as
long as the sitting board is weighted. But as soon as the weight is taken off from the
board the weights N fall down in the guides 0 (fig. 2) and thus they turn the shaft E
and the cup F. At the same time the lever M is turned and the rod L is raised and
with it the front part of the sitting board and so it is brought from the position shown
by fig. 1 in that shown by fig. 2.
By this the closet is closed automatically, as will be seen directly. To the front
edge of the sitting board is fixed a sort of a blind R which forms the cover of the
closet and which is pulled up with the board and goes down with it before the front
board Qas shown. This blind or cover can take the form of a circle or it may be
stretched out straight as shown in dotted lines.
To open the closet the sitting board is pulled down by means of the handles S and
it is held by springs T when the board is nearly in its lowest position until it is
completely pressed down by the person using it.
In order to make sure that the solid excrements adhering to the sides of the cup
are thrown off, I arrange the rebounding device consisting of the levers U, keyed to
the shaft E and of the spring V which makes the levers U and the cup F rebound
when they strike against it.

page_text: At some convenient place above the sitting board, 1 fix the box X containing drying
material and communicating with the closet by means of the tube W. By the turning
of the cup F a slide a opens at the proper moment the tube W and allows a certain
quantity of the drying material to fall on or into the cup F.
The slide a is governed by a finger and by the lovers c', d', el.
In order to facilitate the drying of the matter still more and to take away the
smell, branches Z lead from the tube B into a chimney as shown and for cleaning the
pipe B branches Y with covers are arranged.
I may add that instead of the levers and rods shown and described for moving tho
sitting board etc. a rope and pulley arrangement may be employed as shown by dotted
lines or equivalent devices and elements might be used without altering the principle
of my invention.
Such minor alterations and variations may be prescribed by local circumstances
and the designing engineer will use one or the other as he thinks best for the special
locality.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
In a closet arranged for direct separation of the fluid excrements from the solid
matter.
1) The combination of the inverted conical pot A inclined towards the rear with
the holes a, the rib b and tubes c and 1.
2) The combination of the said pot A with a piece of tube B below A diverging
in a wide branch pipe D and a narrow one C and with a special separating mechanism
in the tube B.
3) In combination with the piece B the turn cup F with one half of its bottom
being solid, the other half perforated and combined with the secondary sieve G and
the concave plate H fixed on the shaft E.
4) The combination of shaft E, the cup F, sieve G and plate H with the lever M,
the rod and the sitting board 1 acting as shown and described.
5) The blind R connected to the front edge of the sitting board forming a cover
of the closed when the board I is raised up.
6) The repercussion mechanism consisting of the levers U, the spring V, combined
with the shaft E, the levers m and counterweights N.
7) The combination of the closet with the tube W and the box X containing drying
material and being provided with the selfopening and selfclosing slide a¹, levers and
rods b¹¹ d¹ and e; the whole as set forth and as shown in the drawing.
Dated this 3rd day of September 1888.
KARL 1. MAYER,
Agent for A. Kersten.