A NEW OR IMPROVED SYSTEM OF HOUSE SANITATION AND APPARATUS OR MEANS TO BE EMPLOYED THEREIN as follows:
Year: 1884

page_text: I HENRY CHARLES SMITH of Richmond in the County of Surrey Engineer do
hereby declare the nature of said invention for "A NEW OR IMPROVED SYSTEM OF
HOUSE SANITATION AND APPARATUS OR MEANS TO BE EMPLOYED THEREIN
as follows:-
"3
to be
This invention relates more particularly to the disposal and treatment of excreta
from dwelling houses which excreta have hitherto been usually carried off from the
premises by a flush of water through soil pipes or drains communicating with the
main sewer whereby not only is the value of the said matters as fertilizing agents
practically destroyed but in many cases the sanitary condition of the house is
impaired and the germs of disease are spread throughout the neighbourhood.
Now according to my invention I substitute what I call a "dry system" for the
present water flushing system dispensing entirely with the use of water closets and
their complicated adjuncts of discharge valves, flushing apparatus syphon or other
traps, and (so far as solid excretal matters are concerned) with all communication
with the main sewer. In lieu of water closets I employ earthenware or metal
basins or receptacles fitted in any convenient part of the house and provided with
lids or covers said basins being also formed with inclined discharge pipes or mouths
opening laterally in a downward direction into a vertical shaft built outside or
inside the house. This shaft may be constructed of ordinary brickwork lined with
cement similar to an ordinary chimney but I prefer to make it of smooth glazed
earthenware tubes properly fixed and jointed together. The said shaft should be
continued up from the basement or thereabouts to a height corresponding to the
highest basin or receptacle, those on the floors below opening as before described
into the same shaft. The upper end of this shaft may be either left open or be
closed but at the bottom it opens direct vertically into a receptacle where the ashes
from the house may be thrown and mixed with the excreta from the various basins
and in which it is deodorized and collected. This receptacle may be in direct
communication by a flue or flues with the kitchen or other fire, the heat and
products of combustion (especially soot) from the burning fuel therein serving to
dry or char and deodorize the contents of the receptacle any suitable agitator or
stirrer being used in the said receptacle for mixing the contents and discharging the
The said dried and deodorized solid fecal matters may be disposed of as a
same.
Prine ba

page_text: valuable manure ready prepared on the spot. The said receptacle also communicates
directly with the lower end of an upcast chimney shaft or flue carrried up above
the top of the house for the escape of the products of combustion from the fire
whereby an ascending current of air is produced aided or not by a blower or fan
fitted in any convenient part of the chimney. This upward draught produced by
the heat employed in drying the contents of the receptacle serves to effect a thorough
ventilation of the building by creating a flow of air from the interior thereof
outwards into the ventilating shaft through the various basins or receptacles or
other openings hence no noxious effluvia can gain access to the interior of the
building. If desired one shaft alone may be employed which may be an ordinary
chimney opening at the bottom into the receptacle and communicating with a
special fire of its own or with any of the ordinary fires in the house, an agitator
or disintegrator is fitted inside this vertical shaft to be worked either from the
outside of the building, or by the person using the closet or automatically by the
opening or closing of the cover or seat or by the draught up the shaft the object of
such disintegrator being to break up the solid fecal matters and allow of their being
more easily acted upon by the products of combustion whilst keeping the shaft
clear.
I prefer to employ closet basins so arranged as to separate the liquid from from
the solid excreta as is well understood the urine passing away to the waste drain
or receiver. I also in some cases combine with each basin a valve inside the shaft
the closing of which when the closet is not in use allows the products of combustion
to pass through the basin for the purpose of purifying the same. The cover of the
closet acts also as a valve or damper for regulating the admission of air into the
shafts.
1

page_text: COMPLETE
BREVIFICATION.
"
I HENRY CHARLES SMITH of Richmond in the County of Surrey Engineer do
hereby declare the nature of my said invention for "A NEW OR IMPROVED SYSTEM
OF HOUSE SANITATION AND APPARATUS OR MEANS TO BE EMPLOYED THEREIN and
in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates more particularly to the disposal and treatment of the
Bolid excretal matters from dwelling houses or other buildings which matters have
hitherto been usually carried off from the premises by a flush of water through soil
pipes and drains communicating with a main sewer whereby not only is the value
of the excreta as fertilizing agents practically destroyed but in many cases the
sanitary condition of the house is impaired and the germs of disease are spread
throughout the neighbourhood.
Now according to my invention I substitute a dry system for the present water
flushing system as used in connection with a main sewer dispensing entirely with
the use of ordinary water closets and their usual complicated adjuncts of discharge
valves flushing apparatus, syphon or other traps.
My said dry system cousists of a mode of utilizing the otherwise waste gases
and products of combustion from one or more of the usual fires of a dwelling house
or other building or from a special fire on the premises, for drying and deodorizing
the focal matter in situ as fast as it is produced said products of combustion being
brought by flues or shafts into direct contact with the excreta either whilst collected
in a receptacle situate at or near the basement and in direct communication with
the several closet basins, or whilst on its way from the closet basins to the
said receptacle, the draught produced in the said flues or shafts serving to carry off
all noxious effluvia and at the same time to promote a thorough ventilation of the
building by producing a constant flow of air from the interior outwards.
In carrying out my invention I employ in lieu of water-closets earthenware or
metal basins fitted in any convenient part of the house and provided with lids or
covers said basins being also formed with inclined discharge pipes or mouths.
opening directly at the different floors into a vertical down-cast shaft (according to.
one arrangement) constructed either outside or inside the house. This down-cast
shaft may be formed of ordinary brick work lined with cement similar to an
ordinary chimney but I prefer to make it of smooth glazed earthenware tubes
properly fixed and jointed together. It should be continued up from the basement
or thereabouts to a height a little above the highest basin or closet in the building
those on the floors below opening at their respective levels direct into the same
shaft as before described. The upper end of this shaft may be closed but at the
bottom it opens direct into a receptacle for the excreta which receptacle is in direct
communication by a special flue or flues with the kitchen or other fire, and is also
in direct communication with a separate up cast or ventilating chimney or shaft
open at the top through which and through the said receptacle the heat and
products of combustion from the burning fuel pass and in which receptacle the soot

page_text: is deposited and mixed with the excreta said products serving during their passage
through the said receptacle to dry or char and deodorize the excreta (mixed or not
with ashes or other like house refuse) collected therein, any suitable agitator or
stirrer being used for mixing the contents of the receptacle and discharging the
same when required. The up-cast or ventilating chimney shaft or flue is carried
up from the receptacle to above the top of the house for the escape of the effluvia
along with the products of combustion from the fire or fires whereby an ascending
current of air is produced aided or not by a blower or fan fitted in any convenient
part of the shaft. This upward draught produced by the heat employed in drying
and deodorizing the excreta serves to effect a thorough ventilation of the building
by creating a flow of air from the interior thereof outwards into the ventilating
shaft through the various basins or other outlets into the down-cast shaft thence
through the main receptacle and finally up the ventilating up-cast shaft, hence no
noxious effluvia can gain access to the interior of the building.
By a more simple arrangement (which I prefer) I dispense with the first
mentioned or down-cast shaft and employ a single up-cast shaft or chimney alone.
This shaft is in direct communication with one or more of the ordinary fires of the
house or with a special fire of its own at the basement or below the levels of the
various closets; it serves not only for conducting the excreta down from the several
closet basins, opening directly therein, into a collecting receptacle below with which
it also communicates, but it further allows of the free escape of the effluvia and
products of combustion and promotes ventilation. A creeper or disintegrator may
be fitted inside this vertical up-cast shaft worked either from the outside of the
building, or from the inside by the person using the closet, or automatically by the
opening and closing of the cover or seat or otherwise the object of such creeper or
disintegrator being to break up the solid focal matters caught thereon and to allow
of their being more efficiently acted upon by the products of combustion, whilst
adhering to or suspended from the creeper inside the shaft at the same time serving
to keep the shaft clear.
The said dried and deodorized solid fecal matters having been detached from the
creeper and more or less broken up or disintegrated descend into a receptacle below
in which they are collected and whence they may be removed from time to time
and disposed of as a valuable manure ready prepared on the spot.
In this simplified arrangement it is not necessary that the collecting receptacle
be heated as the contents will have already been more or less dried and deodorized
whilst suspended on the creepers inside the shaft by the hot gases and products of
combustion passing therethrough.
I prefer to employ closet basins so arranged as to separate the liquid from the
solid excreta as is well understood the urine passing away by suitably disposed
pipes to a separate waste drain or receiver. I also in some cases combine with each
closet a valve or damper situate inside the shaft the closing of which when the
closet is not in use causes the ascending products of combustion to be diverted
through the different basins for the purpose of purifying the same. The lid or
cover of the basin acts also as a valve or damper for regulating the escape of the
air from the interior of the building into the ventilating shaft.
Figure 1 of the drawings annexed is an elementary diagram in vertical section of
the combination and arrangement of apparatus hereinbefore first referred to.
Figure 2 is a vertical section of the second or more simplified arrangement which
I prefer to adopt in practice and,
Figure 3 is a corresponding end elevation thereof showing the relative positions
of the closets-the up-cast ventilating flue or shaft the kitchen or other fire or
special furnace as the case may be with its connecting flue for supplying the heated
products of combustion to the said shaft and the receptacle for the dried or
partially dried and deodorized foecal matters.
In Figure 1a a are the closet basins, bb hinged lids or covers-cc inclined
discharge mouths opening into the down-cast shaft or flue d shown as closed at the
top at e but opening at the bottom direct into the collector or receptacle f-g a flue

page_text: leading to the said receptacle from the kitchen fire or special furnace h (as the case
may be) on the premisesi the up-cast ventilating shaft leading from the receptacle.f
and carried up above the roof of the building. k is an agitator or stirrer in said
receptacle worked as required by the handle or otherwise. The arrows in all the
figures show the direction of the air currents whereby a thorough ventilation is
maintained. m is a closed inlet for introducing ashes or house refuse or disin-
fectants into the receptacle to be mixed with the excreta deposited therein and n
is an outlet for discharging the dried and deodorized matter into sacks or other
suitable receivers.
In Figures 2 and 3 i is a single up-cast ventilating shaft or chimney extending
from the basement to above the top of the building. h is the usual kitchen fire or
it may be a special fire or furnace provided for the purpose. g is the flue or
passage connecting the said fire or furnace directly with the lower end of the up-
cast ventilating shaft or chimney i. a a are two closet basins on the first and
second floors respectively each communicating by a downward inclined passage or
discharge mouth c with the said up-cast ventilating shaft or chimney i. fis a
collector or receptacle situate at the bottom of the shaft or chimney i for the
collection of the excreta as it descends the said shaft in a more or less dried and
deodorized condition. o is a trap or door for the discharge of the dried or partially
dried and deodorized excreta from the lower portion of the shaft i into the recep-
tacle or collector f whence it may be removed from time to time for use as a
fertilizing agent. The closet basins a are each provided with a close fitting hinged
lid or cover b and are by preference made of earthenware with an annular recess
round the top for the reception of an india rubber packing ring upon which the lid
closes down so as to form a tight joint. A passage or opening p connects the upper,
portion of the interior of each basin with the shaft or chimney i and a sliding
damper q fitting across the said shaft or chimney serves when closed to divert the
course of the products of combustion through any one or more of the basins a when
out of use and closed by their lids or covers 6 thereby keeping them purified.
These dampers q may be worked either independently by the user of the closet, or
they may be so connected by levers r (shown in dotted lines) with the closet lids,
as to be opened and closed by the act of opening and closing the lids. Just below
the discharge mouth of each basin I place inside the shaft or chimney i a rotary or
other creeper or disintegrator 8 consisting by preference of an upright spindle
supported in suitable bearings inside the shaft or chimney and carrying horizontal
arms which on being rotated pass between a series of fixed arms in the interior of
the shaft. The said creepers or disintegrators may be rotated from time to time as
required in order to free them from the matter deposited thereon and to clear the
thoroughfare of the shaft by turning the hand wheel t mounted on a spindle geared
to the spindle of the creeper. The sliding dampers q should be slotted to allow of
their working across the spindles of the creepers without interfering therewith.
In the front of the inside of each of the closet basins in both modifications a
receptacle or compartment u may be formed for receiving or intercepting the urine
and slops so as to keep the solid focal matters separate from the liquid waste but I
do not claim separately such an arrangement as part of my invention the same
being already well known.
Each intercepting compartment may be provided with a pipe and tap for
supplying water thereto as required for the purpose of cleaning the same and the
liquid matters may be carried off therefrom through suitably disposed pipes v in
connection with a special drain pipe or receiver w.
Any ordinary fuel may be burned in the grates communicating with the main
receptacle of the excreta or with the ventilating shaft or chimney as the case may
be; in some cases I should use bituminous coal, peat, or shale, or would burn on
the special fire or furnace when used, any matter best suited for disinfecting the
excreta.
I do not claim broadly the drying and deodorizing of excreta by subjecting the
same to an elevated temperature neither do I claim separately the use of cesspits

page_text: and similar receptacles for receiving the excreta and house refuse, provided with.
ventilating shafts the same being well known and in common use.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
•
1. The herein described dry system of house sanitation and the combination or
arrangement of apparatus or means employed therein, wherein the excreta are dried.
and deodorized in situ either whilst in a collector or receptacle or whilst on their
passage thereto, by the waste heat and products of combustion from the usual or
other fires on the premises connected by special flues with the said collector or
receptacle, or with a single up-cast ventilating shaft or chimney, through which
the products of combustion along with the effluvia escape, and by which, a perfect
ventilation of the premises is maintained as specified.
2. The use in combination of closet basins discharging their contents direct into
a down-cast shaft, opening into a collector or receptacle, which is in free communi-
cation with one or more of the ordinary or other fires of a building and with an
up-cast ventilating shaft as and for the purpose herein before described and
illustrated at Figure 1 of my drawings.
3. The, use in combination of closet basins discharging their contents direct into
a single up-cast ventilating shaft in free communication with one or more of the
ordinary or other fires of a building and with a collector or receptacle as and for
the purpose hereinbefore described and illustrated by Figures 2 and 3 of my
drawings.
•
4. The combination with the aforesaid up-cast ventilating shaft of creepers or
disintegrators for holding in suspension and breaking up the excreta discharged
thereon from the different basins as herein-before described and illustrated by
Figure 2 of my drawings.
5. The combination with the aforesaid up-cast ventilating shaft of dampers for
diverting the course of the products of combustion through the closet basins when
out of use as and for the purpose herein-before described and illustrated by Figure 2
of my drawings.