IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF WATER-CLOSETS
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Pitt, of Sutton, in the County of Surrey, for an
"
Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF WATER-CLOSETS."
A communication from abroad by Dr. J. Finck, of Baden-Baden.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Pitt at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 20th October 1881.
GEORGE PITT, of Sutton, in the County of Surrey. IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF WATER-CLOSETS." (A communication from abroad by Dr. J.
Finck, of Baden-Baden.)
This Invention has for its object to render water closets absolutely inodorous,
and to prevent them being centres of infection in houses.
In the Drawings annexed, Figure 1 is a vertical section of the closet apparatus ;
Figure 2 is a similar view showing a portion of the closet apparatus constructed of
brickwork.
a is the seat of the closet; b, the soil pipe descending into a chamber c which
is filled with water to the level of the over flow d at the side of the chamber. The
water is arranged to stand at such a level as to cover the lower end of the soil
pipe b to a depth from 5 to 15 centimetres, and thus hermetically seal it. In the
inclined bottom of the chamber is an opening which is closed by a tightly titting
stopper e, and when this is removed from its seat by a rod or cord allows the
contents of the chamber to escape into the conduit f leading into a drain or cesspool
or receiver g or to any other suitable outlet. The conduit f receives also the
matters which overflow by the overflow pipe d.
It will be understood that the excrement discharged into the chamber c by the
soil pipe b floats upon the water and escapes by the over flow pipe into the
pipe fleading to the cesspool or outlet, but the hermetical joint formed by the soil
pipe b dipping into the water in the chamber c prevents the entrance of gases into
the water closet or into the soil pipe.
At any desired intervals of time the stopper e may be drawn away from its seat,
the whole of the contents of the chamber c is thus rapidly discharged, carrying
before it any matter which may previously have lodged in the conduit f. The
stopper e is then allowed to fall on to its seat and the chamber c is again filled
with water to the top of the overflow d.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said George Pitt in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 20th April
1882.
GEORGE PITT, of Sutton, in the County of Surrey. "IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE CONSTRUCTION OF WATER CLOSETS." A communication from abroad by
Dr. J. Finck, of Baden-Baden.
This Invention has for its object to render closets sometimes called privies perfectly
inodorous, and to remove the excrements from houses or towns to convenient
distances without permitting any fermentation to take place; thereby preserving in
the said excrements all their manurial qualities for agricultural purposes, partly
separating if required the liquid excrements from the solid.
By the process as follows, the soil pipe descends from the seat of the closet in a
reservoir or chamber filled to the brim or overflow with water and dips from 5
to 15 centimetres below the surface of the water, so that the quantity of excrements
descending through the soil pipe below the surface of the water as above, displaces
the same volume or quantity of inodorable water by the overflow as above.
this way an ounce, a pound, or any quantity of matter as above, carried under the
water by the medium of the soil pipe, displaces an equal volume or quantity of
water over the overflow.
In
In the Drawings annexed, Figure 1 is a vertical section of the closet apparatus;
Figure 2 is a similar view showing a portion of the closet apparatus constructed
of brick work.
a is the seat of the closet; b, the soil pipe descending into a chamber c which is
filled with water to the level of the overflow d at the side of the chamber. The
water is arranged to stand at such a level as to cover the lower end of the soil
pipe b to a depth from 5 to 15 centimetres, and thus hermetically seal it. In the
inclined bottom of the chamber is an opening which is closed by a tightly fitting
stopper e, and when this is removed from its seat by a rod or cord allows the
contents of the chamber to escape into the conduit fleading into a drain or cess-
pool or receiver g or to any other suitable outlet. The conduit f receives also
the matters which overflow by the overflow pipe d.
It will be understood that the excrement discharged into the chamber c by the
soil pipe b floats upon the water and escapes by the over flow pipe d into the
pipe fleading to the cesspool or outlet, but the hermetical joint formed by the soil
pipe b dipping into the water in the chamber c prevents the entrance of gases into
the water closet or into the soil pipe.
At any desired intervals of time the stopper e may be drawn away from its seat,
the whole of the contents of the chamber c is thus rapidly discharged, carrying
before it any matter which may previously have lodged in the conduit f. The
stopper e is then allowed to fall on to its seat, and the chamber c is again filled
with water to the top of the overflow d.
Referring to the accompanying Drawing, Figures 3 and 4, the following state-
ment is made:-
Through a pipe or tube b, as per Drawings, the natural discharges pass from
the water closet a into a receiver c filled up to the brim with water, which takes
the place of the usual cesspool, and the pipe or tube passes into the said receiver to
a distance of from 5 to 10 centimetres below the upper surface of the water, so that
the objects discharged sink down in the water in such a way that the upper body
of water above the lower orifice of the pipe or tube remains untainted, and is thus
preserved from bad smells, so that the spreading of the smells is prevented.

page_text: With this arrangement, the additional volume of the excrements passes off at d
out of the receiver c without smell in an equal quantity, either over the edge of
the receiver d or through a trough or tube fitted at d.
The said receiver, which may have any desired shape or dimensions, has at its
lower extremity an opening e provided with a valve or other closure which, on
opening the closure, discharges the contents of the receiver through a gutter or
pipe f to any desired distance from houses or towns with its natural force into any
reservoir made for the purpose.
The end of the said pipe or tube g must also be covered by some kind of fluid
in order to prevent the bad smells being carried back by the circulation of the air.
Hitherto people have indeed succeeded, by means of syphons, valves, ventilation
above or below, in keeping part of the house tolerably free from bad smells, but
the advantage of this method is that it does away with the evil of cesspools and
leaves no time for the excrements to ferment in houses or towns, at the same time
it effects the removal of the injurious stuff to any desired distance by the reservoir
applied as above mentioned.
I do not confine my Invention to the forms or details here within described, and
do not claim them as the Invention or improvement, but what I do claim is
dipping the soil pipe to about the depth indicated into a vessel filled with water,
to the brim or overflow, by which the excrements are carried under the surface of
the water, where they are preserved for several days from fermentation, the sheet
of water which covers them preventing any odour being communicated to any
part of the habitations or towns, and preserving in the excrements all their
manural qualities, and so that the excrements may be removed before any fermen-
tation takes place.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Pitt, have hereunto set my hand and
seal, this Twentieth day of April, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty two.
GEO. PITT. (LS.)