Improvements in Disinfecting Apparatus.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Feb., 1898-Accepted, 9th Apr., 1898.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Disinfecting Apparatus.
I, FLORENCE CARMAN, residing at 6727, Woodland Avenue, in the City; and
County of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, United States of America,
Clerk, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement:-
"
My invention relates to disinfecting apparatus and its use in connection with
water closets, and it is the object. of my invention to provide a valved reservoir of
disinfecting material supported in the vicinity of a closet and so connected with a
moving part of the ordinary flush tank apparatus of said closet that the operation
of said apparatus will automatically occasion the discharge of a given quantity of
disinfecting material from said reservoir into a pipe leading to the closet bowl.
In the accompanying drawings I show, and herein I describe a good form of a
convenient embodiment of my invention, the particular subject-matter claimed as
novel being hereinafter definitely specified.
In the drawings,
Figure 1 is a central, vertical, sectional. elevation of an ordinary form of flush
tank provided with the usual valves and fittings, and of a valve-provided disinfector
reservoir mounted in the vicinity of said tank, all the parts being shown in their
normal position.
Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1, illustrating the parts in the position they
occupy at the moment, when the outlet of the flush tank has been closed, after
having been opened and the water level lowered.
Figure 3 is a view in perspective of the tilting conveyor.
Figure 4 is a view in perspective of the connecting link.
Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.
In the drawings,
A is a flush tank of any ordinary construction and arrangement, provided with a
flush pipe B which is supposed to lead to a closet container or bowl, not shown.
The mouth b of the flush pipe, within said tank, is slightly flaring, as shown in
Figures 1 and 2, to form a seat for the ball-valve 6 which controls. said. outlet..
The ball-valve 6x depends, through any suitable connection 6', from a tilting
lever 6 pivotally connected to the framework of the tank, and to the outer end of
which is connected a depending pull cord C...
Traction exerted upon the cord C will, as is understood, tilt the lever b?, unseat
the ball-valve, and allow the escape of the water contained in the tank A through
the flush pipe B.
Upon the release of the cord C, the ball-valve will return by gravity to the valve
seat b in the mouth of the flash pipe and close the outlet.
D is a water inlet or supply pipe, the mouth of which within the tank A, is con-
trolled by a pivoted valve d, to which is connected, by a rod d¹, a float D, which,
rising and falling with the water level in the tank, will tilt the tilting. valve d and
alternately open and close said inlet.

page_text: The parts so far described are of the usual character and well known in the art,—
and it may at this point be stated that my improvements may be employed in
connection with any of the ordinary forms of flush tanks and flush tank-operating
devices.
E, Figures 1 and 2, is a tank or reservoir for containing a disinfecting fluid, the
same being an ordinary receptacle of any preferred character, divided by a
diaphragm into a containing chamber E and a discharge chamber ex-said
diaphragm being conveniently provided with a recess e¹ in its nppor edge for the
reception of the tilting conveyor, as hereinafter, explained.
e² is an escape or outlet port, formed conveniently in the bottom of the discharge
chamber, and opening into a disinfectant pipe F, which leads to and discharges
within the bowl or trap of the closet at such point as the construction of said bow!
and trap may render desirable.
his a discharge valve of any preferred construction, which controls said outlet
port, and which is shown as an ordinary form of puppet valve, provided with a
vertically-extending head-provided stem h¹.
Gis what I term a tilting conveyor, the same being a pipe mounted in the
disinfectant reservoir and terminating as to one end within the containing chamber,
and as to its other end within the discharge chamber, while the intermediate portion
rests in a vertical slot or recess e¹ in the diaphram e, which serves to guide its
movement to some extent and to assist in retaining it in its operative position.
That end of the tilting conveyor which exists within the containing chamber is
enlarged to form a bowl G, the interior of which is continuous of the bore of the
tilting conveyor and has walls of such height as to be capable of containing with
the adjacent part of the bore of the body of the device a quantity of the disinfecting
liquid.
That end of the tilting conveyor which extends within the discharge chamber,
being the discharge end of said conveyor, is conveniently provided with a transverse
barg which is entered in suitable brackets or bearings mounted upon the diaphragm e
and constitutes a pivot upon which the conveyor G has a tilting movement.
That end of the tilting conveyor which extends within the discharge chamber is
further provided with a yoke y¹ which embraces the valve stem ¹ of the valve h,
and in the tilting movement of the conveyor alternately raises and lowers said
valve.
I, Figures 1 and 2, is a tilting lever pivotally supported conveniently upon the
body of the tank A, and provided as to one end with a link i the lower end of
which is engaged with the tilting conveyor, as, for instance, by means of the eye
92, and the other end of which is provided with a link the lower end of which
is connected with the rod.d' of the float D* in any suitable manner.
In the construction shown in the drawings, the rod d' extends through an
elongated eye i¹ formed in the lower end of the link i*.
The operation of my apparatus will be readily understood :-
In Figure 1 the parts of the apparatus are shown in their ordinary positions,
the valves of the inlet and flush pipes or the flush tank being closed, and the water
in said tank being at its usual level.
In this position of the parts the tilting conveyor of the disinfectant reservoir rests
in such position that its bowl G* is submerged and upon the floor of the containing
chamber, while the yoke mounted on its discharge and supports the valve h in open
position.
In this position, moreover, the containing chamber of the disinfector tank is
nearly full of disinfecting material, while the discharge chamber, which is
normally open, is entirely empty.
When, then, the outlet valve which controls the flush pipe B has been opened,
and, by. escape of the water, the liquid level in the tank A has been lowered-the
descent of the float D* will operate, through the link i and lever I, to lift the
link and tilt the tilting conveyor into the position shown in Figure 2, in which
position said conveyor will permit of the lowering of the valve h to close the outlet

page_text: port 2, and will discharge the disinfecting fluid theretofore contained within its own
bowl and bore into the discharge chamber e*.
As, thereafter, the outlet valve 6 having closed, the water level within the flush
tank gradually rises as the water enters through the inlet pipe D, the ascent of the
float D will operate, through the links i, and tilting lever I, to occasion the
gradual lowering of the body of the tilting conveyor and consequently the gradual
opening of the outlet port e² of the discharge chamber, with the result that the
disinfecting material contained within said discharge chamber will escape through
the disinfector pipe F, to the bowl or trap of the closet.
By reason of the special form of connection between the link and the rod of
the float D, said float in the first portion of its descent is without effect upon said
link and consequently upon the tilting conveyor and puppet valve.
The sequence of theso operations is novel and important. Should the disinfectant
material pass down contemporaneously with the water in the pipe B it would pass
out of the bowl with the water and be of little or no service.
By the apparatus described, however, the disinfectant only begins to descend
after the water has ceased to run through the flush pipe, and consequently the
disinfecting material remains within and about the closet bowl until the closet is
again used.
By my apparatus, moreover, a measured quantity of the disinfecting material is
supplied to the closet bowl at each operation, which renders waste or extravagance
in the use of the material impossible.
Manifestly my invention may be embodied in many different mechanical forms,
and a great variety of mechanical modifications of the several parts described may
be resorted to, without departure from the spirit and essence of my invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of ný. said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is :-
1. In combination, a water closet flush tank provided with an inlet and an
outlet, mechanism controlling said inlet and outlet, a disinfectant reservoir provided
with an outlet apparatus for discharging a quantity of disinfectant from said reservoir,
and devices connecting said mechanism and said apparatus whereby the movement
of said mechanism is transmitted to and occasions the operation of said apparatus,
to effect a discharge from the disinfectant reservoir after the discharge from the
flush tank, substantially as set forth.
2. In combination, a water closet flush tank provided with an inlet and an outlet,
mechanism controlling said inlet and outlet, a disinfectant reservoir formed with
two chambers one of which is provided with a valve-provided escape opening
leading to an escape pipe, a tilting conveyor having one end in each of said
chambers, a connection between said tilting conveyor and the valve, and a device
adapted to transmit movement from a moving member of the flush tank
mechanism to said tilting conveyor to occasion its tilting and the manipulation of
the valve of the escape opening, substantially as set forth.
3. A disinfectant reservoir provided with a containing chamber and a discharge
chamber, an opening in said discharge chamber leading to an escape pipe, a valve
mounted in said opening, a tilting conveyor having one end within the disinfectant
chamber and the other end within the discharge chamber, and connected with said
valve, and means for occasioning the tilting of said tilting conveyor, substantially
as set forth.
4. A disinfectant reservoir provided with a containing chamber and a discharge
chamber, an escape opening in said discharge chamber leading to an escape pipe,
a valve mounted in said opening, a tilting conveyor having one end within the
disinfectant chamber and the other end within the discharge chamber, and
connected with said valve, a water closet flush tank and a connection between a
moving part of the tank controlling apparatus and said tilting conveyor,
substantially as set forth.

page_text: 5. In combination, the disinfectant reservoir having a discharge chamber and a
containing chamber, a tilting conveyor so disposed that one of its ends is in one
and. the other end in the other of said chambers, an escape opening in said discharge
chamber, a valve in said escape opening, a conuection between said tilting couveyor
and said valve, a water closet flush tank having an inlet pipe and an outlet pipe, a
valve for said outlet. pipe, means for controlling the same, a valve for the inlet pipe,
a float connected to said valve, and a connection between said float and the tilting
conveyor, substantially as set forth.
6. In combination, the disinfectant reservoir having a discharge chamber and a
containing chamber;, a tilting conveyor so disposed that one of its ends is in. one
and the other end in the other of said chambers, an escape opening in said
discharge chamber; a valve in said escape opening, a connection between said
tilting conveyor and said. valve, a water closet flush tank. having an inlet pipe and an
outlet pipe, a valve for said outlet pipe, means for controlling the same, a valve
for the inlet pipe, a float connected to said valve, and a connection between
said float and the tilting conveyor which consists of a tilting lever having two
links one of, which is secured to the float or its connections and the other to the
tilting conveyor, substantially as set forth.
Dated 11s 21st day of January A.D. 1898.
Witnesses:
FREDERIC NORMAN DIXON.
THOMAS KEYS LANCASTER.
FLORENCE CARMAN.