Improvements in and relating to Water Closets.
Year: 1897

page_text: Improvements in and relating to Water Closets.
1, JOSEPH JOHNSON, of Thompson Street, Bilston, in the County of Stafford,
Brassfounder, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to improvements in and relating to water closets of the
automatic type, and is designed to obviate the difficulty experienced and trouble
caused by persons neglecting to flush the pan of the closet after using; the
consequence of which is that the outlet to the closet basin becomes stopped.
Furthermore, the invention is such as to prevent the sides of the pan becoming
fouled, and also to allow the same to be opened and cleansed should any stoppage in
the system occur.
In this invention the flushing and the basin outlet is controlled by the seat which
has a rising and falling movement; the former one being automatic. The body of
the pan or closet basin is built of earthenware or any other suitable material on
ordinary lines, with the exception that the bottom to the actual pan part is left open;
a removable part carrying the outlet being fitted thereto so as to enable the seals of
the basin to be got at should any stoppage occur, or any cleansing thereof be required.
The said removable bottom rests upon the edge of the basin walls adjacent to the
open part, to which it forms a closure, and from its under side depends a ring or other
flange or rim adapted to dip into a circular or other shaped gutter or seal water
chamber formed immediately below the supporting edge of the basin as aforesaid.
The outlet which, as before described, is carried by the removable bottom consists of
a straight tubular passage, formed at its mouth into a seating, the lower end thereof
dipping into a seal water chamber arranged within the lower part of the closet basin
below the pan bottom; the said chamber constituting the principal seal to the pan.
The boundary edge of the removable bottom has perforations therethrough to admit
water to the seal water chamber, adjacent to the said bottom, which prevents any
foul gases issuing from the drains by way of the said removable part.
The seat to the closet is hinged to its frame and has jointedly connected to
its under side, at any suitable point, a plunger rod working vertically through the
body of the pan, and having a conical head or plug part adapted to close the mouth
of the outlet of the removable bottom, hereinbefore described, when the said seat is
depressed; but its normal position is clear of the pan outlet with the seat elevated, in
consequence of a weight or its equivalent being fitted to the joint of the said seat,
which always tends to elevate it. A lever, chain, or its equivalent, connects the
rising and falling seat to the operating arm of the flushing cistern, so that, on the
depression of the seat by a person sitting thereon, the water from the said cistern is
emptied into the closet pan or basin, whilst, at the same time, the plunger closes the
outlet from the pan.
outlet to the pan is stopped, and
within the pan bottom. The seal
flushing water from the cistern
In this manner, whilst the closet is in use, the
approximately two gallons of water are contained
to the removable bottom is also cleansed by the
finding its way to the perforations as before described. Immediately the person using

page_text: the closet rises from its seat the plug of the plunger is withdrawn from the outlet, and
the whole of the excrement and cleansing water passes from the basin down the
outlet pipe, through the primary seal chamber, and from thence to the sewer pipe.
The primary seal water chamber, into which the lower end of the outlet pipe dips,
may be made in such a form as to slightly yield when the contents of the pan are a
passing therethrough, and into this seal, through the side of the pan, may be
arranged a slop water drain which materially assist in cleansing the said chamber.
The outlet pipe of the removable bottom may, instead of being straight, curve into
a S or P figure, and form of itself the seal.
I, JOSEPH JOHNSON, of Thompson Street, Bilston, in the County of Stafford,
Brassfounder, 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 relates to improvements in and relating to water closets of the
automatic type, and is designed to obviate the difficulty experienced and trouble
caused by persons neglecting to flush the pan after using; the consequence of which
is that the outlet to the said pan becomes stopped. The improvements are also such
as to prevent the sides of the pan becoming fouled, and also to allow the outlet and
seals to be got at and cleansed should any stoppage therein occur.
In this invention the flushing and the pan outlet is controlled by the seat, the
front part of which has a rising and falling movement; its operation being through
a person sitting thereon and depressing it, and rising therefrom and allowing it to
return to its former position.
The chief characteristics of the invention are: the closing of the pan outlet,
through the medium of a plug or plunger, by the depression of a hinged seat operated
by a person using the closet; the starting of the flushing cistern by the depression
of the seat; a removable pan bottom carrying the pan outlet and a straight extension
pipe leading therefrom to the trap or seal water chamber; and a waste water inlet,
(arranged in connection with the pan bottom or its trap) from which the water is
obtained for flushing, working in conjunction with the plug or plunger for closing the
pan outlet and for controlling the waste water inlet.
In the accompanying sheet of drawings the invention is illustrated, Figs. 1 and 2
showing two forms of closet pan arranged to be cleansed by the action of a flushing
cistern. In the first view the pan bottom is made removable, carrying rigid with it.
the pan outlet; a section showing in plan the said removable bottom, taken on the
dotted line F Fig. 1, being shown in Fig. 3. A ground gulley is fitted to this closet
pan carrying a connection nozzle for the drain pipe and a trap or seal water chamber
to constitute, with the extension of the pan outlet, the seal to the pan.
In Fig. 2 the removable pan bottom and ground gulley is dispensed with, but the
means for closing the pan outlet by the depression of the seat is practically the same
as in Fig. 1.
In reference to Figs. 1 and 3 the body a² of the pan a is built of earthenware or
any other suitable material upon ordinary lines with the exception that the bottom a³
is left open. This open bottom is closed by a removable part a having made rigid

page_text: a
with it the pan outlet a³ and a straight pipe extension a", which latter dips into the
trap or seal water chamber 02 of a ground gulley chaving an outlet
leg c3 an 1
nozzle end c¹, the latter for connection to the drain
pipe. This ground gulley is set below the level of the floor of the closet and
constitutes a foundation to the pan proper. The boundary of the open bottom a³, of
the pin a, is formed into an all-round gutter or trench d of a shape similar to the
open bottom of the pan, and outwards of this or nearer the pan walls is a set back
ledge or recess de, the latter to form a seating for the removable bottom at, as aforesaid,
and the former to constitute a seal water chamber into which a depending all-round
flange a, carried by the removable part at, takes to form in conjunction with the said
gutter, when filled with water, a seal to the removable bottom's seating against the
sewer.
The pan outlet is circular and coned, and is disposed in the removable part at
opposite a plug or plunger e arranged to work vertically through a cylindrical or other
shaped chainberg formed within the front 2 of the pan body. The said plug or
plunger consists of a conical head e² and a stalk e³, the latter passing through the
chamber as aforesaid; a collar e and a button head es being also provided upon the
said stalk, the first named to form a stop against the upward movement of the plug
and the latter an adjustable head against which a projection h2 of a rising and falling
seat comes, to force the conical head e² of the plug into the conical outlet a' when
the seat is depressed by a person using the closet. A coiled spring m surrounds the
stalk of the plug and works within the chamber g between a divisional flange g³ and
the underside of the head e of the stalk, its action being to lift the plug head e²
from the outlet and to keep the front end of the closet seat raised.
The seat is hinged to the backboard at 3, and an arm or its equivalent is
rigidly carried thereby to which is connected a chain, or its equivalent, o for actuating
the operating lever of a flushing cistern.
A waste water supply pipe f, shown in dotted lines, which may proceed from a sink,
wash-house or the like, may, if necessary, extend into the trap c² as an extra flushing
means, but this is not necessary where a flushing cistern is usel. The flush water pipe
from the cistern is connected to the rim at n in the usual way.
A passage s proceeding circuitously through the walls of the pan, from the body
thereof, and which constitutes the overflow from the basin, is directed from the point 82
into the gutter or trench d as aforesaid, its disposition being such that on every
flushing a quantity of the water passes by way of it into the said gutter, which always
keeps the saine full and thereby a perfect seal.
On such a closet as described being used, the act of a person sitting on the seat
depresses it, which forces the plug or plunger vertically downwards and causes its
head e to fit the pan outlet and close it, whilst at the same time the flushing
cistern is operated through the medium of the arın 5 and chain o, so that the pan
becomes filled up to the overflow line with water before any excrement is deposited.
Immediately the user rises from the seat the outlet is opened by the spring m
raising the plunger e, the said outlet being immediately flooded by reason of the
full weight of the flush water being upon it; the consequence of which is that
everything in the pan is forced before the water to the drain under considerable
pressure.
Should the outlet or the trap become stopped the removable bottom at can be
removed and the thoroughfare opened.
The outlet of the pan in Fig. 2 is closed and the cistern operated by the same
means and in a similar manner as the arrangement in Fig. 1, but there is no
removable bottom it being made rigid with the body of the pan. The nozzle c',
leading from the pan outlet, has fitted to it an S or P trap of the ordinary construction,
and a flush overflow s is also provided leading from the pan body to below the pan
outlet and into the drain. The spring m, surrounding the plunger, in this arrange-
ment is enclosed within a casing m², opened at its top m³, which nestles within the
chamber g at the front of the pan; the walls at the back part g2 being cut away for
the casing's introduction,

page_text: Figs. 4 and 5 show certain parts of the improvements applied to a waste
water closet, in which slops or waste water from a sink, a wash-house, or other source,
is used as the flushing medium; a flushing cistern in this erse is dispensed with.
The actual pan is set below the level of the closet floor, the seat being elevated and
supported on a kind of hollow pedestal. In Fig. 4 the pan outlet and plunger for
closing the same is arranged at the rear of the hinged seat or the pan, but in Fig. 5
they are arranged at the front thereof, and in this last arrangement the plunger head
is double acting as it shuts off the waste water supply all the time the pan outlet is
open.
In these figs., c is the pan proper, c³ the outlet therefrom, f the waste water supply,
e the plug or plunger, 8 the overflow passage, a the hollow pedestal, and the hinged
seat. The only difference in the construction of the two views is that whilst in Fig. 5
the plunger head is directly operated by the seat and has a coiled spring m, the
plunger in Fig. 4 is actuated by a lever n and is controlled by a rubber block m
adapted to lift the seat h when depressed. The lever n is connected to the plunger
at n², fulcrumed at n³ to the pedestal, and coupled by a link n to the seat h at n³.
The flush water in these closet pans is backpounded, and in the last two forms the
same is pounded within the waste water supply pipes, so that there is always sufficient
to flush the pan. In Fig. 4 the waste water rises in the supply fand trickles o. er the pan
bottom to the outlet when the closet is not in use, but immediately the seat is depressed
and the plug e closes the outlet the waste water accumulates up to the overflow line
and a sufficient quantity is always back-pounded to flush the pan when the outlet is
opened by the user of the closet rising from theseat. In Fig. 5 the action is similar, but
the waste water supply is not opened until the pan outlet is closed, when at once the
said pan is flooded up to the overflow line, the same taking place before any excrement
has been deposited. In this arrangement a relief passage w is provided through the
wall dividing the waste water supply leg from the pan so that the supply can
overflow and be relieved provided the closet is not used for any lengthened period.
It will be obvious that by such a system the fouling of the surface of the pan is
very small, as its walls are always wetted before the actual use of the pan by the user,
and also that a flushing is positive and that there is no trusting to the memory of the
user for cleansing.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I claim is:
First. In water closets, opening and closing the pan outlet by means of a rising
and falling plug or plunger operated, either directly or indirectly, by a movable closet
seat and a spring, weight, or its equivalent through the act of a person leaving or
sitting upon the said seat, substantially as described and set forth.
Second. In water closets, the means for opening and closing the pan outlet and
operating the flushing cistern, by the action of a person using the closet, consisting
of a rising and falling plunger e, a spring m acting on said plunger, and a hinged
closet seath having a projection h² and a connection means for the chain pull of the
flushing cistern, substantially as described in Figs. 1 and 2.
Third. In water closets, the combination of a pan a having a conical outlet a³, a
rising and falling plug or plunger e working through a chamber g at the pan front
and having a collar e and an adjustable head e', a spring m located within said
chamberg and surrounding the stalk of the plunger, and a rising and falling hinged
seat having a projection h2, adapted to impinge upon the plunger head e', and an
arm h³ to which is connected a chain o for actuating the flushing cistern, substantially
as described and set forth in Fig. 1.
Fourth. In water closet pans or basins, a removable bottom such as at, by which
ready access can be obtained to the said pan outlet and trap for opening the closet
thoroughfare should it become stopped, substantially as described with reference to
Fig. 1.
Fifth. In water closets basins or pans, a removable bottom at having depending

page_text: parts as a, the former formed into a coned part a³ to constitute the pan outlet, in
combination with an open pan bottom founded by a gutter d and a recess or
seating d², into which first named is directed a water supply passage & leading from
the pan body, substantially as described with reference to Fig. 1.
Sixth. In water closet pans or basins, a removable bottom at having a depending
flange a7 and an open ended extension pipe as formed into a coned outlet as at its
top, in combination with an open pan bottom a³ bounded by a gutter d and a sinking d²,
and a ground gulley c having a trap or seal water chamber c², substantially as
described.
Seventh. In water closets, the combination with a pan having a removable
bottom a carrying the outlet, of a rising and falling plunger e adapted to open and
close said outlet, a spring m acting upon said plunger, and a rising and falling hinged
seat h having a projection h² and connection means for the pull of a flushing cistern,
substantially as described.
Eighth. In closets to be flushed by waste water, the combination with the pan outlet
c³, of a rising and falling plunger e, a hinged seat h, and means for connecting the
one to the other and operating them, comprising parts m, n, and n, substantially
as described with reference to Fig. 4.
Ninth. In waste water closets, the combination with the pan outlet, of a double
acting plunger e operated by a hinged seat and a spring m and working through a
waste water supply arm having a relief passage w, said plunger being adapted to open
the waste water supply when the pan outlet is closed, and to shut the said supply off
when the pan outlet is opened, substantially as described with reference to Fig. 5.
L
10
1007
W. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
11, Burlington Chambers, New Street, Birmingham,
Also of Liverpool, London, and Manchester,
Agents for Applicant.