In- PROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF SUPPLYING WATER WITH THE VIEW OF PREVENTING WASTE
Year: 1871

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Josiah George Jennings, of Palace Road, in the
Parish of Lambeth, Sanitary Engineer, for the Invention of "In-
PROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF SUPPLYING WATER WITH THE VIEW OF
PREVENTING WASTE."
Sealed the 25th July 1871, and dated the 28th January 1871.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Josiah George Jennings
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 28th January 1871.
I, JOSIAH GEORGE JENNINGS, of Palace Road, in the Parish of Lam-
beth, Sanitary Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF SUPPLYING WATER WITH THE
VIEW OF PREVENTING WASTE," to be as follows:-
In order to prevent waste in drawing water from cisterns to supply
sinks, urinals, waterclosets, and such like, I form within a cistern a
measuring chamber, as has before been proposed, and I connect this
chamber with a supply cistern; the supply to the measuring chamber
I control by means of a valve; I also fix within this chamber an escape

page_text: On the
valve for the supply of any sink, closet, or other receptacle.
top of the escape valve I fix an ordinary piece of pipe, the passage
through the pipe being continúed through the valve. Over this pipe I
place another pipe closed at the top, and this pipe I connect with one
arm of a lever placed above it. The other arm of this lever has jointed
to it a rod, which at its end is connected by a clutch with the valve
controlling the supply, and also a rod, by which this arm of the lever
can be pulled downwards. On the exterior of a projection on the back
of the valve controlling the supply to the chamber, as also on the
exterior of the short piece of pipe which rises up from the discharge
valve, I form grooves to receive studs fixed in the clutch previously
referred to, and also fixed on the interior of the outside pipe. These
studs or pins being free to work a certain distance in the grooves to
insure that whenever the lever is turned on its axis by pulling down-
wards the rod connected to it the valve from the supply cistern shall be
closed before raising the discharge valve and pipe carried by it. The
supply valve being thus closed any further depression of the lever
will raise the pipe and valve attached to it, and permit the escape of
water to the watercloset or other receiver, and then even though the
lever be released, and the discharge valve return to its valve seat the
water will still flow from the measuring chamber, as it will at once rise
up the inside of the larger pipe and entering the smaller pipe at its
upper end will flow to the closet (until the contents of the measuring
chamber are exhausted), this continued flow being due to the syphon
action formed between the two pipes by the water escaping down the
service pipe, which acts as the long leg of the syphon.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Josiah George Jennings in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 27th July 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOSIAH 30
GEORGE JENNINGS, of Palace Road, in the Parish of Lambeth, Sanitary
Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of January, in the
year of our Lord One thousand cight hundred and seventy-one, in the 3

page_text: thirty-fourth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said Josiah George Jennings, Her
special license that I, the said Josiah George Jennings, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Josiah George
Jennings, 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 "Iм-
PROVEMENTS IN THE MEANS OF SUPPLYING WATER WITH THE VIEW OF PREVENTING
WASTE," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Josiah
George Jennings, 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 Josiah George Jennings, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
In order to prevent waste in drawing water from cisterns to supply
sinks, urinals, waterclosets, and such like, I form within a cistern a
measuring chamber as has before been proposed, and I connect this
chamber with a supply cistern. The supply to the measuring chamber
I control by means of a valve. I also fix within this chamber an escape
valve for the supply of any sink, closet, urinal, or other receptacle, on
the top of the escape valve I fix a pipe, the passage through the pipe
being continued through the valve. Over this pipe I place another pipe
or cap closed at the top, and this pipe or cap I connect with one arm of
a lever placed above it. The other arm of this lever has jointed to it
a rod which at its end is connected by a clutch with the valve controlling
the supply, and also a rod by which this arm of the lever can be pulled
downwards. On the exterior of a projection on the back of the valve
controlling the supply to the chamber, as also on the exterior of the short
piece of pipe which rises up from the discharge valve, I form grooves
to receive studs fixed in the clutch previously referred to, and also fixed
on the interior of the outside pipe or cap. These studs are free to work

page_text: Figures 1 and 2 are vertical sections of the apparatus; Figure 1 shews
it at rest and Figure 2 in action, or with the water flowing to the closet
or other receptacle; Figure 3 is a portion of a plan. The sections
Figures 1 and 2 are taken at the line a, b, in Figure 3.
A is a cistern supported by a bracket. B is the measuring compart-
ment formed by dividing the cistern by the partition P. C, C, is a pipe
connecting the supply cistern with the measuring compartment B, the
one end being open as indicated by the arrows, the other being fitted
with a valve to control the supply. E is a service connection through
which the measured supply passes to the water closet pan or other
vessel. F is a pipe open at both ends, the lower end being fitted with a
flexible disc or washer forming a valve and resting in a conical earthen-
ware seat over the service pipe E. G is a pipe or cap closed at the upper
end and suspended over the smaller pipe F. On the exterior of this
pipe, as also on the exterior of the valve D, grooves are formed. On the
interior of the larger pipe G and in the clutches on the rod R, studs are
fixed which are made to work within the grooves named. H is a strong
beam or lever working in the fulcrum K, the same being connected with
the pipe or cap G, and by the rod R to the valve D which controls the
supply to the compartment B. S is a rod or wire to be used as a pull
or connected with a lever on the watercloset frame.

page_text: It will be seen that when the rod S is pulled either by hand or by
raising the closet handle, the valve D descends and stops the com-
munication between the cistern and the measuring compartment before
the valve at the end of the smaller pipe F can be raised from its seat,
and after it has been so raised the water in the measuring compartment
B is free to flow through the service E to the watercloset or other vessel
until all is exhausted. If the rod S be sooner released the valve at the
end of the smaller pipe F returns to its seat but the water still continues
to flow from the compartment B, rising up between the pipes F and G,
and escaping down the pipe E.
Thus the supply to a closet is certain (within small limits) as regards
quantity and not dependent on the time the pull may be held.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner of performing the same, I would have it understood that I claim
the construction of apparatus to prevent waste in the supply of water
in such manner that the water is drawn off from a measuring com-
partment which is emptied at each action of the apparatus either by a
valve which is opened at the same time that the measuring com-
partment is cut off from its supply or else should this valve be sooner
closed by a siphon, which the first flow through the discharge pipe brings
into action, and, which goes out of action again when the measuring
compartment is emptied substantially as described.
I also claim the construction of apparatus to prevent waste in the
supply of water, substantially as described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Josiah George Jennings, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of July, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
one.