IMPROVE-.. MENTS IN WATERCLOSETS
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Thomas Smallwood, of Narrow Street,
Limehouse, and William Wright, of Dean's Buildings, West India Dock
Road, both in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-..
MENTS IN WATERCLOSETS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Thomas Small-
wood and William Wright at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 31st May 1862:
We, WILLIAM THOMAS SMALLWOOD, of Narrow Street, Limehouse, and
WILLIAM WRIGHT, of Dean's Buildings, West India Dock Road, both in the
County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN WATERCLOSETS," to be as follows:-
According to the modes heretofore generally practised in the construction of
waterclosets it has been usual to fix a cock at the back of the closet for flushing
the pan thereof with water. In practice this mode of arranging the cock has
been found very objectionable, inasmuch as the cock cannot be easily got at to
repair when required. I propose to remedy this objection by arranging the
aforesaid cock at the front of the closet, and instead of permanently fixing it
thereto to have two connections, one communicating with the water service,
and the other with the pan of the closet, by union joints, by which the cock can
be readily removed for repairs, or another cock substituted in place thereof.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions. of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Thomas Smallwood and William Wright in the
Great Seal Patent Office on the 29th November 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, WILLIAM
THOMAS SMALLWOOD, of Narrow Street, Limehouse, and WILLIAM WRIGHT, of
Dean's Buildings, West India Dock Road, both of the County of Middlesex,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-fifth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto us,
the said William Thomas Smallwood and William Wright, Her special
licence, that we, the said William Thomas Smallwood and William Wright,
our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as we, the said
William Thomas Smallwood and William Wright, our executors, adminis-
trators, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN WATERCLOSETS," upon the condition (amongst
others) that we, the said William Thomas Smallwood and William Wright,
our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, or
their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascer-
tain 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 William Wright, do hereby declare
the nature of our said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in waterclosets, and consists
in forming certain parts thereof in the manner herein-after described. 1st, in
simplifying the construction of the water-conducting and stopping media, by
placing the same at the front of the closet; 2ndly, in so placing a valve or tap
upon the service pipe, and coupling the same thereto, that it may be readily
unshipped or detached, and replaced at sea, or when out of repair. without
removing or disturbing the other parts of the closet, thereby rendering the

page_text: operation capable of being performed by any ordinary workman or person
unskilled in the manipulation of these articles; 3rdly, in forming and fitting
the plug of the stop tap so as to turn upon or within the spindle, carrying a
seated valve at the bottom of the soil pan, and in mounting a tumbler lever
upon and between the said plug and spindle for actuating the same; 4thly, in
so forming the male and female parts or couplings. of the plug and spindle
that one may be partially moved about their common axis independent of-the.
other, thus providing the means by which a single lever is rendered capable
of first opening the tap. or valve on the service pipe, and then tipping the
valve or pan at the bottom of the soil pan, or vice versa. By placing
the plug of the tap and the spindle which actuates the soil pan valve on the
same line of axis, and forming and connecting the adjoining ends, as above
described, they are also opened and closed by one lever: simultaneously. By
making the couplings male and female, the plug of the tap can be turned
freely upon the spindle to any required extent in fitting the tap to and.
removing it from the flushing pipe, and by bringing this tap forward and
coupling it by screw collar or swivel couplings upon the service pipe at the
front of the rising board, it is always accessible for repairs when necessary,
and thus coupled and fitted can be readily removed, cleaned, and repaired';
or if at any time a new tap should become necessary from corrosion, wear, &c:;.
the old one can be taken out and a new one be fitted in a few minutes; and as
this tap in closets formed with these improvements is the only part likely to
wear or become defective by use, which is more especially the case in ship
closets, from the action of the salt, the insertion of a new tap will effectually
reinstate, the closet, and make it nearly, if not equal to a new one.
In con-
structing ship, or in any other closets, when necessary, upon this principle,
and by placing a stop tap or. valve abaft the service pipe (as shewn at
Fig. 2), the water can be shut off at pleasure.
The accompanying Drawing, which is laid down to the scale of one-eighth
of the natural size, is intended to illustrate the improvements of our said
Invention, as herein described.
Fig. 1 is the front elevation, and Fig. 2 a plan of the closet.
a, a, is the floor line; b, b, the seat; c, the riser or front board, a portion of
which is removed, as here drawn, for the purpose of shewing the parts of the
closet behind; c is the pan; d, the hollow pedistal or cylinder in which the
seat valve and under pan are enclosed e is the axis or centre line of the plug
and spindle; f, the slotted lever; g, the rising and falling crank'd lever, to the
opposite ends of which the crank pin h and closing weight i are fitted; jis
the handle, by which the crank and lever which opens and closes the water

page_text: tap and soil valve is actuated; k, k, are the swivel couplings or screw collars
upon the service pipe 1, 1. The same letters of reference will be found at
Fig. 2, and where such letters occur upon that illustration they refer to the
same parts of the closet shewn in elevation at Fig. 1. m is a small pin which
holds the tap and spindle in their proper lateral positions when both are
intended to turn together. A key is formed on the periphory of the spindle,
and a keyway cut in the hollow of the tap plug of a greater or less width
when the latter is intended to have a slight turning motion independent of the
former; and as this tap in closets formed with these improvements is the only
part likely to wear or become defective by use, which is more especially the
case in ship closets from the action of the salt, the insertion of a new tap
will effectually reinstate the closet, and make it nearly, if not equal to a new
one. .d. In addition to the improvements already described, we also propose to
attach the service pipe and form the inlet to the soil pan at the side, in order
that the force of the water may be rendered more effective in removing the
soil, which is liable to partially remain at the back of the pan.
Having thus described the nature and object of our said Invention, and
illustrated by Drawing the manner in which the same may be carried into
effect in practice, we hereby further declare that we do not thereby intend to
restrict the application of our said improvements to the precise form and
dimensions shewn upon the Drawing, as the form and mode of fitting may be
varied without departing from the principle upon which the said improvements
are based.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Wright, on behalf of myself and
the said William Thomas Smallwood, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Twenty-ninth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
WILLIAM WRIGHT. (L.S.)