CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN OR ON VALVE WATER-CLOSETS AND ON THE FRAMES OR STOOLS THEREOF
Year: 1816

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
CHALKLEN, late of Tower Street, Seven Dials, but now of Church Street, Soho,
in the parish of Saint Ann, Westminster, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer,
do send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George, by His Letters
Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at Wesminster,
the Third day of August, in the fifty-sixth year of His reign, did give and
grant unto me, the said John Chalklen, my exors, adññors, and assigns, His
especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the said
John Chalklen, my exors, adññors, and assigns, during the term of years therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within
England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon Tweed, my Invention of
"CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN OR ON VALVE WATER-CLOSETS AND ON THE FRAMES OR
STOOLS THEREOF;" in which Letters Patent there is contained a proviso, obliging
me, the said John Chalklen, under my hand and seal, to cause a particular
description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery
within two calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said
recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same (relation being thereunto had)
may more fully and at large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
John Chalklen, do hereby declare that my said Invention of "Certain Improve-
ments in or on Valve Water-closets, and in the Frames or Stools" thereof consist,
in the following particulars, which, with the means of producing or bringing
about the same, is fully set forth and described as follows (that is to say):-
In the first place, the valve at the bottom of the pan which retains the
water in the same, and thereby prevents any offensive smell from arising, but
which must be opened for the passage of such water and the soil together, has
always been made in the form of a frustrum of a cone, and fitted by grinding
into the bed, tube, or cylinder, which is affixed to the bottom of the pan, which
construction is attended with considerable inconvenience, for it necessarily
requires such accuracy of workmanship in the hanging the valve upon its
hinge that it not only enhances the expense of manufacturing, but is very
liable to get out of order means of grit or dirt resting upon it. Now
I hang my valve which is of brass or any other fit metal or material,
in the same way as has been practised in the best valve water-closets,
and I use the same machinery for opening and shutting it as heretofore,
and for which I claim no patent privilege; but instead of giving my valve
and its seat a conical figure, I make its shutting surface, as well as the
end of the bed, tube, cylinder, or seat, against which it shuts, (and which is
affixed to the bottom of the pan,) completely flat, and I grind these two flat
surfaces separately on a lap, in the usual way of performing such work, until
they are sufficiently true to form an air and water tight joint; after which the
valve is hung upon its hinge in the usual way, but does not require that
accurate fitting or adjustment to make it hold, which is necessary with the old
or former construction; and from the two surfaces being flat and broader than
they can safely be made on the conical construction without danger of their
striking, they are not so liable to be injured or get out of order.
The other part of my said Invention applies to the stool or frame upon which
the several parts of the water-closet are built or put together, in order to enable
them to work prior to their being fixed in their proper situation. The perfection
of this part of the water-closet consists in its stability, and not being liable to
get out of form or give way, for if it does so the machinery cannot act. This
frame or stool has always been made of wood in several pieces, morticed, dove-
tailed, nailed, or framed together, in a manner well known to those accustomed to
the making or fixing of water-closets, and from this circumstance, and the damp
situations in which they are generally placed and their liability to dry rot, they
are subject to get out of form, while the repair is attended with difficulty, from
their being entirely enclosed within the seat and out of sight. To meet and

page_text: remedy this inconvenience, I make my frame or stool of cast iron or other
metal, and entirely in one piece, so that it is impossible for it to be injured,
unless that it is actually broken by violence. The particular form and dimen-
sions of the stool or frame it is unnecessary here to set forth or describe,
because it may be varied either in size, form, or strength, to suit the situation
it is intended for, or the wishes of the purchaser. And as I have before stated
that I work my water-closets in the usual and accustomed manner, and with
the same levers and machinery, and which I do not include in my Patent, it
is only necessary to declare that my iron or metal frame contains all the same
parts, standards, and appurts which would be applied to the common wooden
frame under similar circumstances, and which must be obvious and well known
to those accustomed to make or construct valve water-closets on the former
construction, with this difference only, that my frame or stool is of cast iron or
other metal and all in one piece.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Chalklen, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Second day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixteen
Inrolled the Second day of October, in the year of our Lord One thou-
sand eight hundred and sixteen.