Improvements in and relating to Chamber Pots and like Vessels.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 24th May, 1899
Complete Specification Left, 26th Feb., 1900- Accepted, 19th May, 1900
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Chamber Pots and like Vessels.
I, THOMAS HAWKINS, of 40, Marchmont Street, Russell Square, in the County
of London, Mechanical Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention
to be as follows:-
My present invention relates to chamber pots and like vessels, and consists of
certain improvements hereinafter described. I provide by my invention an
appliance to be put within the pot or like vessel where it may always remain
(excepting when it may require to be removed for cleaning or for emptying the
vessel), affording a cover which is both sanitary and sightly, and which enables
the vessel to remain perfectly silent in use, meeting a great want, especially
in dormitories, hospital wards, thinly partitioned houses, and rooms occupied by
several persons. My invention or appliance has the further merits of being
easily cleanable, the upper part being separable 1rom the lower, very light to
handle, easy to mould or manufacture, applicable or adaptable to vessels of
different sizes, and readily and quickly fixed in position. The lower part may
remain as a permanent fixture, if desired, the upper portion, which is above
the level of the contents of the vessel, being capable of being lifted away without
causing any dripping of water.
According to my invention, I combine a shallow funnel with a short stem
or post in such a way that the latter may stand upon or be fixed to the bottom
of the vessel, being seldom or never removed therefrom, while the funnel is
removable but rests normally upon said stem, its outer. circumference fitting
easily within the rim of the vessel slightly below the top edge. The funnel
preferably carries a flange and also rings or equivalent means for facilitating
removal.
The stem or post is adapted to conduct liquid upon its outer surface, and
can be made in several forms, depending to some extent upon the material,
which may be cheaper and easier to employ for some particular forms than for
others.
The shape of the stem or post may be very slightly conical, narrowing from
the base upwards. The topmost portion, namely that which received the superposed
funnel, may be cut away at certain intervals, leaving radial rings for supporting
the funnel and intervening channels for conveying the liquid away down the
sides of the post into the vessel.
I may provide a small central dome, attached either to the funnel or to the
top of the post rising within the funnel, in either case permitting free passage
through the bottom of the funnel.
The mode of attachment of the stem or post before mentioned may be by
suction or any other suitable means, or I may pass a screwed bolt through the
post and through the bottom of the vessel, employing a threaded nut for securing
same. The bottom of the post is preferably provided with a packing of rubber
let into a groove or other equivalent means for making same watertight.
For pots or vessels already manufactured, I prefer to employ the suction

page_text: principle, for which purpose I take a small disc of soft rubber, slightly bell shaped
by preference, and fix same upon the bottom end of a small screwed rod. Similar
devices are often used as suction holdfasts for displaying articles in shop windows.
This rod and rubber disc (or holdfast) are contained within the post (the latter
being hollow), the screw passing up into a screwed nut or block, situated within
the upper part of the stem. It will thus be seen that upon the post being
applied to the glazed interior of the chamber pot with the suction disc slightly
projecting below the opening, and the post then pressed down and turned, the
disc will by refusing to turn (or turning only very slightly) cause the rod to
be drawn up within the post, thereby producing a vacuum and holding the latter
firmly in place. The maintenance of the vacuum is greatly enhanced by the
following arrangement, which prevents the edge of the suction disc from con-
tracting inwardly (the vacuum space cannot therefore decrease) and ensures the
flange being pressed down firmly upon the smooth base (no air can gain admittance
under the flange). The arrangement in question forms part of the subject of
an application for patent of even date made by me. In its application to a
chamber pot, the suction holdfast may be comprised by the hollow post bearing
upon the flange of the suction disc, the edge of the latter projecting slightly
and being beaded, the beading lying within the annular groove made in the
bottom edge of the post, or two beadings may be used, one outside of the pot,
and the other within the groove.
+
I may find it convenient, in some cases, to form the post in two parts, the
upper part being separable from the lower and carrying the screwed bearing
for the suction rod to work in.
The interior of the post being isolated from the surrounding liquid is kept
perfectly free from contamination, and the vacuum lasts for an indefinite length
of time, a turn of the post being sufficient to restore it, if necessary.
The funnel is fitted firmly upon the top of the post, by means of a short tube
or depending rim projecting below the centre hole and made slightly taper so
as to bind upon the wings of the post which are themselves slightly inclined
as before mentioned.
The appliance aforesaid may be manufactured in earthenware, metal, glass,
or partly in one material and partly in another. The stem or post may, if con-
venient in inanufacture, be formed (in whole or in part) in one piece with the
chamber pot or like vessel during the process of manufacture of the latter.
Dated this 23rd day of May 1899.
STANLEY POPPLEWELL & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SIMULLICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Chamber Pots and like Vessels.
I, THOMAS HAWKINS, of 40, Marchmont Street, Russell Square, in the County
of London, Mechanical Engineer, 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 present invention relates to chamber pots and like vessels, and consists of
certain improvements hereinafter described. I provide by my invention an
appliance to be put within the pot or like vessel where it may always remain
(excepting when it may require to be removed for cleaning or for emptying the
vessel), affording a cover which is both sanitary and sightly, and which enables
the vessel to remain perfectly silent in use, meeting a great want, especially

page_text: in dormitories, hospital wards, thinly partitioned houses, and rooms occupied by
several persons. My invention or appliance has the further merits of being
easily cleanable, the upper part being separable from the lower, very light to
handle, easy to mould or manufacture, applicable or adaptable to vessels of
various sizes, and readily and quickly fixed in position. The lower part may
remain as a permanent fixture, if desired, the upper portion, which is above
the level of the contents of the vessel, being capable of being lifted away without
causing any dripping of water.
According to my invention, I combine a shallow funnel with a short stem
or post in such a way that the latter may stand upon or be fixed to the bottom
of the vessel, being seldom or never removed therefrom, while the funnel is
removable but rests normally upon said stem, its outer circumference fitting
easily within the rim of the vessel a little below the top edge. The funnel
preferably carries a flange and also rings or equivalent means for facilitating
removal.
The stem or post is adapted to conduct liquid upon its outer surface from the
funnel into the chamber pot, and is constructed and applied as hereinafter set
forth.
Referring to the accompanying drawings,
Figure 1 is a section of a pot showing my appliance contained therein, part
of the funnel and post being in section.
Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5 show modified forms of the post shown in Figure 1,
the parts in Figure 5 being separated for convenience of description.
Figure 6 shows a plan of the post (applicable to all forms) upon line rr.
Figure shows a cross section of the rubber suction disc and stem (upon
an enlarged scale) forming part of my appliance.
Figure 8 is an elevation of the stem or post in one piece with a modified form
of attachment to the bottom of the pot.
The shape of the stem or post may be very slightly conical, narrowing from
the base upwards. The topmost portion A may be made of opaque glass or other
suitable substance and hollowed away at certain intervals, leaving radial wings B
and intervening gaps for conveying the liquid away down the sides of the post
into the vessel, as shown by the arrow (Figure 1). The funnel C is preferably
made to rest upon ledges D at the base of the wings B, as it is not always con-
venient for it to be made so accurately (especially if made of clay) as to bite
evenly upon the wings and be supported thereby rigidly in a level position.
The top of the post is rounded or cone shaped and is of such a height as to
rise up within the funnel C, leaving a free passage through the gaps; or I may
provide a small dome independent of the post and attached to the funnel above
its central opening.
The post is preferably attached to the pot on the suction principle, for which
purpose it is provided with special means for producing the necessary vacuum.
By this method there will be no necessity for the chamber pot to be different
from those already in use, and the post, though virtually a permanent fixture,
can nevertheless be removed for any particular reason.
Accordingly, I take a disc H of soft rubber, similar to the kind used for
attaching candle holders to windows, and I pass through the centre of same a
screwed stem J mounted on a small plate J. The lower part K of the post is
preferably moulded from clay or porcelain or other like substance and is glazed
upon its surface. The upper part A is divided from the lower part K by a
watertight joint L, provided with suitable packing, and the complete post is
entirely non-porous and smooth upon its surface. The interior of the post is
hollow, and the upper part A carries a central cylinder-shaped block or core M,
which may be united by a screw N passed through the top of the post and firmly
screwed into the top of the block, as shown in Figures 1 and 5, or it may be in
one piece with the upper part, as shown in Figure 3. Instead of passing the
screw N through from the top of the post, it may be embedded at its head end

page_text: within a recess A¹, Figure 2, formed in the bottom of the upper part, and fixed
by plaster of Paris or other means. The block 3, when not integral with the
upper part, may be formed of wood or the like, and (in either case) a hole ()
is made centrally up from its lower end, and at or near the mouth of said hole
(enlarged for the purpose) a screwed nut P is securely fixed, being held either by
a washer Q (with a hole in centre) and screws R R, Figures 1 and 5, or by
overlapping projections aided by plaster of Paris, when the hole is in china or
like moulded material, as in Figure 3. Said nut P is intended to receive the
screwed stem J of the suction disc.
The modified form, shown in Figure 4, consists merely in reversing the position
of the block ML, screwed stem J, and screw N within the post, the suction disc
being screwed tightly into the bottom of the block by the screw N (or otherwise
affixed) and the stem J being fixed within the upper part A of the post instead
of to the suction disc in any suitable way that can be readily performed.
In some cases, I may find it convenient to manufacture the post in three
principal pieces, as shown in Figure 5, in this case the winged portion A" and
dome-shaped, head B₁ being in two pieces, and one (or both) of them recessed as
at B to receive a watertight packing C¹. In other respects this post may be
similar to that shown in Figure 1. When the dome-shaped cover B is fixed
within the funnel instead of upon the post, the top of the latter may be flat,
and the former is supported upon the sides of the funnel by three or four feet
leaving intervening gaps.
A rabbet is formed in the bottom edge of the post as at S, adapted to fit over
the rim or edge of the suction disc H aforesaid, but being rather shallower than
the same. The screwed stem J should be screwed into the retaining nut P
until the edge of the disc lies within the said rabbet S, and the rubber will
then slightly project below the bottom of the post. The post together with its
suction disc is now ready for application to the inside base of the pot, where it
can be caused to stand upright and firmly adhere to the surface of same by
simply applying it firmly and gently to the surface and then commencing to
turn the upper part A round several times (lifting it slightly at the same time
should it drag on the packing L) thus drawing the screwed stem J within the
core M. The hole in the latter may be stopped at a suitable point to limit
the travel of the spindle to the point at which the suction disc I will have
been pulled up against the opposing force of the vacuum with the greatest
efficiency and prospect of the vacuum being maintained for a considerable
length of time. I have found by experiment that the vacuum remains unaffected
(ven after many months, provided that a little water be allowed to remain
so as to keep the outside edge of the suction disc moist. The shape of the
said disc in cross section is such as shown by Figure 7, and a practically perfect
air-tight joint with the bottom of the pot is formed by the pressure of the
rabbeted edge S upon the rim of the disc, which is prevented thus from becom-
ing contracted in area. When in effective use, the centre of disc H becomes
drawn up in the form shown in Figures 1, 3 and 4.
Instead of the above described method of attachment of the post, I may dis-
pense altogether with the suction principle, and employ a bolt T shown in
Figure 8, passing through or fixed into and projecting from the post (which may
be in one piece) and also through the bottom of the chamber pot, upon the
The bottom
lower side of which a threaded locking nut may be screwed.
edge of the post is, in this case, furnished with a water-tight packing V let into
a groove.
The interior of the post being always kept isolated from the surrounding
liquid is not subject to injury or decay. The rubber disc remains in a good state
of preservation, and the vacuum (where such is used) lasts for a great length of
time, a turn of the post being sufficient to restore it, if necessary.
The funnel B is provided with a short tube or depending rim W projecting below
the centre hole so as to surround the wings C and rest upon the ledges E aforesaid,

page_text: The disposition of the wings C and ledges E are clearly shown in the plan,
Figure 6, the piece B being removed.
The appliance aforesaid may be manufactured in earthenware, metal, glass,
or partly in one material and partly in another.
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. For use in a chamber pot or like vessel, the combination of a post rigidly
fixed therein, but not necessarily irremovable, and a removable funnel situated
above said post and separable therefrom, for the purpose specified, the whole
substantially as described.
2. The combination with a removable funnel of a post made up of two principal
parts, one superposed upon the other, the upper part being turnable in relation
to the lower and bearing a cylinder-shaped block or core (integral with or
attached thereto) extending downwards into said lower part, and a suction disc
carried upon said block and capable of being brought into effective service,
upon the rotation of said upper part by means of a screwed stem and retaining
nut, the whole substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore specified.
3. The modification shown by and described with reference to Figure 4,
wherein the top of the block or core is free to rotate in relation to the upper part
of the post but securely fixed at its lower end to the suction disc, in combination
with the remaining elements of Claim 2, for the purpose specified, and the whole
substantially as described.
004
STANLEY POPPLEWELL & Co.,
61 & 62, Chancery Lane, (7 & 8, Southampton Buildings), London, W.C.,
Chartered Patent Agents.