IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS. FOR INTERCEPTING THE SOLID PORTIONS OF THE SOIL OF WATERCLOSETS
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edwin Chesshire, of Birmingham; in the County of
Warwick Surgeon, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS.
FOR INTERCEPTING THE SOLID PORTIONS OF THE SOIL OF WATERCLOSETS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edwin Chesshire at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 5th
May 1868.
I, EDWIN. CHESSHIRE,. of, Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Surgeon,
do hereby declare the nature of the said. Invention. for "IMPROVEMENTS IN..
APPARATUS, FOR: INTERCEPTING THE SOLID PORTIONS OF THE SOIL OF WATERCLOSETS,"
to be as follows:-
4.
My Invention consists of the arrangement of apparatus, herein-after
explained, for intercepting the solid portions of the soil of waterclosets. In
the course of the soil pipe or drain passing from the watercloset or closets
to the main sewer, I place or construct a vessel or reservoir which I
h I call a
catch-pit or intercepting reservoir; the said catch-pit or intercepting reservoir
may be made of metal, stone, slate, or other material. If made of-a-non-
metallic-substance, I puddle it externally'so as to prevent the percolation of
liquid through its sides and bottom; I also make the said catch-pit or intér
cepting-reservoir air-tight, or as nearly air-tight as may be. The said catch-
pit or intercepting reservoir may either be square or cylindrical, or of such
other form as its position may render desirable. The soil pipe from the water-

page_text: closet or closets enters the catch-pit at top, and the pipe which connects the
catch-pit with the sewer is connected with the said catch-pit at or near the
bottom of the said catch-pit. The sewer pipe does not, however, open directly
into the catch-pit, but into a vertical pipe or cylinder situated in the catch-pit,
and extending from bottom to top, the said vertical pipe or cylinder being
perforated all over with small holes. The contents of the watercloset or
closets received in the catch-pit are separated into two portions, the solid
portions being intercepted by the perforated pipe or cylinder, and retained in
the catch-pit, while the liquid portions pass through the perforations in the
said pipe or cylinder and through the sewer pipe to the sewer.
The perforated pipe or cylinder may be made of iron or of wire gauze, or of
earthenware, or of other material; and although I prefer to make it of a
tubular form, yet it may be made of various other forms. Instead of using
a pipe or tube, the catch-pit may be separated into two parts by means of a
perforated plate or diaphragm, the soil pipe opening into the catch-pit on one
side of the said plate or diaphragm, and the sewer pipe on the other side.
The soil pipe passing from the watercloset or closets above to the catch-pit and
the sewer pipe leading from the catch-pit to the sewer or drain below should
each be provided with a syphon trap, the said syphon traps being made, by
preference, in those portions of the pipes which are situated near the catch-
pit; the said syphon traps prevent the regurgitation of offensive gases from
the sewer. The soil and drain pipes should be connected with the catch-pit
by union joints or by other junctions which permit of their ready separation
from the catch-pit. The top of the catch-pit may be covered by a tight-fitting
slab or cover, which may be luted or cemented, or otherwise fixed down.
When necessary the cover of the catch-pit may be removed, and the said
catch-pit emptied of its solid contents, which form a valuable manure.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edwin Chesshire in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
28th October 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDWIN
CHESSHIRE, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Surgeon, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of Her

page_text: reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,.give and grant unto me, the
said Edwin Chesshire, Her special licence that I, the said Edwin Chesshire;
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Edwin
Chesshire, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
FOR INTERCEPTING THE SOLID PORTIONS OF THE SOIL OF WATERCLOSETS," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said Edwin Chesshire, 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 Edwin Chesshire, 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 -
...
ホ
My Invention consists of the arrangement of apparatus, herein-after
explained, for intercepting the solid portions of the soil of waterclosets. In
the course of the soil pipe or drain passing from the watercloset or closets to
the main sewer I place or construct a vessel or reservoir, which I call a catch-
pit or intercepting reservoir; the said catch-pit or intercepting reservoir may be
made of metal, stone, slate, wood, or other material. If made of a non-metallic
substance, I prefer to puddle it externally, so as to prevent the percolation of
liquid through its sides and bottom; I also make the said catch-pit or inter-
cepting reservoir air-tight, or as nearly air-tight as may be, except through
the soil pipe above and the drain pipe below. The said catch-pit or inter-
cepting reservoir may either be square or cylindrical, or of such other form as
its position may render desirable. The soil pipe from the watercloset or
closets enters the catch-pit at or near the top and the pipe which connects the
catch-pit with the sewer is connected with the said catch-pit at or near the
bottom of the said catch-pit. The sewer pipe does not, however, open directly
into the catch-pit but into a compartment formed by à vertical pipe, plate, or
grating situated in the catch-pit, and extending from bottom to top, or nearly
so, the said plate, pipe, or grating being perforated all over with small holes,
or cast or otherwise made into a grating. The contents of the watercloset or
closets, when received in the catch-pit, will be separated into two portions, the

page_text: solid portions being intercepted by the perforated plate, pipe, or grating, and
retained in the catch-pit, while the liquid portions pass through the perfora-
tions in the said plate, pipe, or grating, and through the sewer pipe to the
drain or sewer.
:
The perforated plate, pipe, or grating may be made of iron or of wire
gauze, or of earthenware, or of other material; and although I prefer to make
it of a tubular or semicircular form, yet it may be made of various other
forms. Instead of being provided with a perforated plate, pipe, or grating,
the catch-pit may be separated into two parts by means of a perforated plate
. or diaphragm, the soil pipe opening into the catch-pit on one side of the said
plate or diaphragm, and the sewer or drain pipe on the other side; or the per-
forated plate, diaphragm, or grating may extend over one or more of the sides
of the interior of the catch-pit. The soil pipe passing from the watercloset or
closets above to the catch-pit, and the sewer pipe leading from the catch-pit to
the sewer or drain below may each be provided with a syphon trap, the said
syphon traps being made in any portion of the said pipes; the said syphon
traps prevent the regurgitation of offensive gasses from the sewer. The soil
and drain pipes should be connected with the catch-pit by union joints or by
putty hurds or clay cement, or by other junctions, which permit of their ready
separation from the catch-pit. The top of the catch-pit may be covered by a'
tight-fitting slab or cover, which may be luted. or cemented, or otherwise
firmly fixed down. When necessary the cover of the catch-pit may be
removed and the said catch-pit emptied of its contents, which will form a
valuable manure, or the entire catch-pit, with its contents, may be removed
and replaced by an empty one..
Having explained the nature of my Invention, I will proceed to describe,
with reference to the accompanying Drawing, the manner in which the same
is to be performed.
Figure. 1 represents, in elevation, an apparatus for intercepting the solid
portions of the soil of waterclosets fixed in position for use, the said apparatus'
being constructed according to my Invention; Figure 2 represents the inter-
cepting apparatus in vertical section on a larger scale; and Figure 3 is a
horizontal section of the same. The same letters of reference indicate the
same parts in each Figure of the Drawing.
a is the catch-pit or intercepting reservoir made of a rectangular figure;
the said catch-pit or reservoir may, however, be made square, cylindrical, or
of other form, as its position may render desirable. The catch-pit or inter-
cepting reservoir a is represented as being made of wrought-iron plates rivetted
together, but the said catch-pit or intercepting reservoir may be made of cast

page_text: iron, stone, slate, wood, or other material. The said catch-pit or intercepting
reservoir is provided with handles b, b, at the sides, by which it can be removed
for emptying; and is covered by à tight fitting lid or cover c. At one of the
corners of the catch-pit or intercepting reservoir a is a curved vertical plate or
pipe or grating d; the said vertical plate, pipe, or grating being perforated all
over with, or having small holes, as' represented; e 'is the soil-pipe passing
from the watercloset f (indicated in dotted lines.). The soil pipe e'enters. the
catch-pit a at or near the top, being passed through the connecting' piece or
joint g, carried by or fixed to the lid c; h is the sewer pipe, the upper end of
which passes through the connecting pièce or joint i, and opens into the per-
forated plate, pipe, or grating d. The pipes e and h may be provided with
syphon traps near the catch-pit to prevent the regurgitation of offensive gases
from the sewer. The contents of the watercloset or closets with which the
apparatus is connected are received in the catch-pit or intercepting réservoir.a
through the soil pipe, e, and are separated into two portions, the solid portions
being intercepted by the vertical perforated plate, pipe, or grating d, and
retained in the catch-pit or reservoir a, while the liquid portions pass through
the perforations-in-the-said-plate, or pipe, or-grating d, and through the sewer
pipe to the drain or sewer. The quantity of solid soil in the catch-pit a
may be gauged, without removing the lid or cover: c from the catch-pit,-by
unscrewing the screw plug k, and introducing a rod into the said catch-pit.
When the contents of the catch-pit a'are required to be emptied, the cover c
is lifted from the pit: by means of the handles the joint piece 9 being dis-
connected, sliding on the soil pipe e. The catch-pit or reservoir can now be
removed by its handles 6, 6, and emptied of its solid contents, and the empty
catch-pit afterwards restored to its place, and the soil and sewer pipes e, h,
refixed thereto in the manner represented in Figure 1. The apparatus is then
again ready for use..
Instead of making the part d of the catch-pit of the form represented in the
Drawing, the catch-pit may be separated into two parts by means of a per-
forated vertical plate across the catch-pit at the dotted line 1, Figure 3; ór
where the catch-pit is large, and two or more closets are connected with the
same catch-pit, the said catch-pit may have another vertical. perforated plate
at the dotted line in, Figure 3, in addition to that at the line 7. By this
arrangement the liquid portions of the soil will be rapidly carried off from the
catch-pit or reservoir to the sewer.
Although I have described and represented the arrangements of the per-
forated vertical divisions in the catch-pit or reservoir which I have found in
practice to answer best, yet I do not limit myself thereto, as the said catch-pit

page_text: or reservoir may be divided in any other convenient way; for example, by án
inclined perforated plate instead of a vertical one. In addition to the per-
forated vertical divisions described, a false perforated horizontal bottom or
grating may be introduced into the catch-pit or reservoir; but I have found,
in practice, that a vertical perforated division works quite satisfactorily.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I do not
limit myself to the precise details herein described, as the same may be varied
without departing from the nature of my Invention; but I claim as my
Invention the improvements in apparatus for intercepting the solid portions of
the soil of waterclosets, herein-before described and illustrated in the accom-
panying Drawing, that is to say, an apparatus consisting of a vessel or reser-
voir placed or constructed in the course of the soil pipe or drain passing from
the watercloset or closets to the drain or main sewer, the said vessel or
reservoir being divided by a perforated pipe, plate, or grating into two.com-
partments, the soil pipe or pipes from the watercloset or closets opening into
one of the said compartments, and the drain or sewer pipe opening into the
other of the said compartments, the said, perforated pipe, plate, or grating
intercepting the solid portions of the soil, and retaining them in the vessel or
reservoir, and permitting the liquid portions to pass through to the drain or
sewer pipe.
In witness whereof I, the said Edwin Chesshire, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.
EDWIN CHESSHIRE. (L.s.)