Improvements in Privies and Privy Seats.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 4th Aug., 1887.
Specification Accepted, 6th Sept., 1887.
[Communicated from abroad by CHARLES KELLEY, of the City of Toronto, in the
County of York, in the Province of Ontario, Canada, Commercial Traveller.]
Improvements in Privies and Privy Seats.
1. ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn in the County of Middlesex, M.I.M.E.
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the sanie is
to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
The object of the invention is to provide an attachment to a privy-seat by which
the excrement-hole shall be closed except when the party using it is seated; and it
consists essentially in pivotting on one side of the excrement hole a pan which
is connected by rods and levers to the seat which is pivotted at or near its centre
so that when the said seat is used its front portion must move downwardly and
by acting on the rods and levers referred to causes the pan to swing on its pivot clear
of the excrement-hole. The outer or ordinary cover of the seat is acted upon
by a finger attached to the rear portion of the pivotted seat which finger comes
in contact with a bracket attached to the back of the cover in such a
that the said cover is thrown forward at such an angle that it must fall immediately
that the party rises from the seat; the whole being constructed and arranged
substantially as and for the purpose hereinafter specified.
manner
Fig. 1 is a perspective view partially in section, showing the privy-seat in the
position it will be in when the party using it is seated.
Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the top cover open to expose the position of the
seat and pan when the front portion of the seat is not pressed upon.
Fig. 3 is a cross section of the seat when the pan is closed.
In the drawing is shown the improvement as it is constructed for the seats
of ordinary privies. In this construction A represents the ordinary top board or seat
with its excrement-hole a.
B represents a frame fixed to the top of the seat A and surrounding three sides
of the excrement-hole a.
C is the seat which is pivotted at d near its centre to the frame B so that when
its front portion is pressed down its back portion will rise.
An apron is attached to the front of the seat and passes through a slot made
in the seat A so as to effectually close the space between the seat C and top board A
and yet permit the free rocking motion of the seat C.
D '

page_text: D is a pan connected to the arm E which is pivotted on one side of the seat
as shown.
I, is a rod connected at one end to the arin E and at its other end to the bell
crank J. The other arm of the bell crank J is connected as shown to the front
portion of the seat C. On the back part of the seat C is placed a weight K so that
when the front portion of the seat is not pressed upon it will owing to the weight K
be held in the position indicated in figure 2-that is to say the front of the seat
is raised so as to hold the bell crank J in the position indicated in Figure 2 in which
position the pan 1) will be held over the excrement hole a.
The moment that the party about to use the seat presses upon the front of the
seat the bell crank J will push down into the position indicated in figure 1 in which
position, it will hold the pan D away from the excrement-hole a as indicated in
figure 1.
The moment that the pressure is removed from the front of the seat the weight K
will cause the seat C to tilt on its pivot and owing to the connection described the
pan D will be instantly brought back into its initial position. When the front of
the seat C is pressed down its back portion will naturally move up which action carries
the finger Fup against the back of the T bracket on the cover G so as to tilt the
cover forward to such an angle as will cause it to fall when not supported.
Hl
The front portion of the head of the T bracket comes in contact with the top
of the finger F immediately the cover G is thrown forward so as to support the cover
until the rear portion of the seat C is caused to fall down by the weight K. The
weight K is considered the best medium for tilting the said seat but of course
spring might be substituted.
The advantages of this invention are so obvious that it is not necessary to enumerate
them in this specification. It will be sufficient to say that a privy having a seat
provided with this attachment must necessarily be sweeter than a privy having a seat
of the ordinary kind as by this device the cesspool is always separate from the privy
compartment the pan always closing the excrement-hole a when the privy seat
is not used.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention
as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent and in what manner the same
is to be performed I declare that what I claim is :-
1. A pan D located below the excrement hole a in combination with mechanism
arranged to throw the pan away from the hole upon downward pressure on the seat
substantially as and for the purpose specified.
2. The pan D connected to the arm E which is pivotted on one side of the
excrement-hole a in combination with the rod I bell crank J and pivotted seat C
arranged substantially as and for the purpose specified.
3. The pan D connected to the arm E which is pivotted on one side of the
excrement-hole a in combination with the rod I bell crank Jand pivotted seat C
having a weight K attached to it substantially as and for the purpose specified.
4. A seat B pivotted at or near its centre and provided with an apron b in
combination with a bell crank J rod I and arm E arranged to carry the pan
substantially as and for the purpose specified.
5. The seat pivotted at or near its centre and provided with a finger F to act
against the cover G in combination with the pivotted pan D connected to the weighted
pivotted seat C arranged substantially as and for the purpose specified.
Dated this 4th day of Anost 1987