IMPROVEMENTS IN PRIVIES, DRY CLOSETS, AND COMMODES, AND IN DEODORIZING SUBSTANCES TO BE USED IN PRIVIES, DRY CLOSETS, AND COMMODES." PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alfred Hill, of Birmingham, in the County of War-
wick, Doctor of Medicine, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
PRIVIES, DRY CLOSETS, AND COMMODES, AND IN DEODORIZING SUBSTANCES TO BE
USED IN PRIVIES, DRY CLOSETS, AND COMMODES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left. by the said Alfred Hill at the Office.
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 17th October
. 1864.
I, ALFRED HILL, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Doctor of
Medicine,, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN PRIVIES, DRY CLOSETS, AND COMMODES, AND IN DEODORIZING SUBSTANCES
TO BE USED IN PRIVIES, DRY CLOSETS, AND COMMODES," to be as follows:-
My improvements in privies, dry closets, and commodes, consists in
arranging in the manner herein-after described the parts of the said privies,
dry closets, and commodes, whereby the receptacle of the soil or ordure is
closed after the privy, dry closet, or commode has been used, and a measured
quantity of a suitable absorbent and deodorizing powder projected on the said
soil or ordure.
I will describe this part of my Invention with reference to a dry closet.
Underneath the opening in the seat is a chamber or receptacle for the recep-
tion of the soil of ordure. The said chamber or receptacle may have an

page_text: internal lining capable of being lifted through the opening in the seat, or the
chamber itself may be made capable of removal in any convenient manner.
Immediately under and near the front of the seat a partition is fixed for the
purpose of carrying off the urine, and causing it to pass through a pipe to
a receptacle placed to receive it. Above the seat is a reservoir filled with
the powder to be used. The powder in the said reservoir consists of the
deodorizing compound berein-after-described, or of other powder, which when
thrown on the soil absorbs its moisture, and makes therewith a dry and
valuable manure. The lower part of the reservoir is formed into a hopper,
the pipe of which passes through the seat, and opens a short distance above
a fixed horizontal shelf. The said shelf is for the most part situated outside
the receptacle for the soil, but the inner end of the said shelf projects slightly
into the said receptacle. The said shelf is provided with vertical sides to
prevent the powder which falls from the hopper on to the said shelf escaping
from the said shelf laterally. Immediately-underneath the seat is a horizontal
plate or cover which turns on an axis, passing through the seat, and is pro-
vided with a handle at top by which it can be turned. By means of the said
handle the said cover can be brought over the top of the receptacle for the
soil, or turned aside so as to leave the receptacle uncovered. On the under
side of the said cover is a scraper or brush, which when the cover is moved
in the direction proper to bring it over the receptacle, passes over the shelf on
which the powder from the reservoir has fallen, and sweeps the said powder
from off the said shelf into the receptacle and on the soil which has been
deposited therein. The cover at the same time closes the bottom of the
hopper. When the closet is about to be used again the handle is turned so
as to uncover the receptacle. The bottom of the hopper is at the same time
opened, and powder falls from the reservoir on to the shelf until by the accu-
mulation of the said powder its further descent is prevented. The quantity
of powder which is thrown into the řeceptacle each time the 'closet is used, is
greater or less according to the distance of the shelf on which it falls below
the mouth of the hopper, and the size of the mouth of the hopper. Instead
of moving the cover by hand as described, the apparatus may be made
automatic, that is to say, the weight on the seat of the person using the closet
may be made to uncover the receptacle, and the return of the cover
on the
person rising from the seat may be effected by a spring or weight. When I
make the cover automatic, I prefer to divide the cover in the middle, and
make it open by one-half moving in one direction, and the other half in the
other direction. The two halves are geared together by pinions, and are
acted upon by the seat which is hinged at back, and is depressed on the

page_text: person using the closet sitting upon it. The seat acts upon the halves of the
cover by means of bevil gearing, or other mechanical equivalent. When the
deodorizer employed is in fine powder there is danger that it will clog in the
hopper, and I prefer to employ a stirrer in the hopper for the purpose of
loosening the powder in case of clogging. The said stirrer consists of a rod
with a series of cross spikes.
My improvements in deodorizing substances to be used in privies, dry.
closets, and commodes, consist in making a deodorizing compound or mixture
in the following manner:-I take light street sweepings, consisting mainly of
horse droppings, and carbonize the same at a low temperature, and I mix it
with gypsum and dried or roasted clay. I employ these materials in about
equal quantities, but I do not limit myself to these proportions, I reduce the
mixture to powder by means of rolls or otherwise. The deodorizing com-
pound may either be employed in fine or in coarse powder or in a granulated
state. In place of street sweepings spent tan or other waste organic matter
may be employed.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Alfred Hill in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 13th
April 1865.
:
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, ALFRED
HILL, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Doctor of Medicine, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters,
Patent, bearing. date the Seventeenth day of October, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the twenty-eighth year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said Alfred Hill, Her special licence that I, the said Alfred
Hill, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Alfred-Hill, 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
PRIVIES, DRY CLOSETS, AND COMMODES, AND IN DEODORIZING SUBSTANCES TO BE
USED IN PRIVIES, DRY CLOSETS, AND COMMODES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Alfred Hill, my executors or administrators, by an

page_text: instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their bands 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 Alfred Hill, 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:
:
My improvements in privies, dry closets, and commodes, consist in arranging
in the manner herein-after described the parts of the said privies, dry, closets;
and commodes, whereby the receptacle of the soil or ordure is closed after the
privy, dry closet, or commode has been used, and a measured quantity of
á suitable absorbent and deodorizing powder-projected-on-the said soil or
ordure.
I will describe this part of my Invention with reference to, a dry-closet:
Underneath the opening in the seat is a chamber or receptacle for the
reception of the soil or ordure. The said chamber or receptacle may have
an internal lining capable of being lifted through the opening in the seat; or
the chamber itself may be made capable of removal in any convenient manner.
Immediately under and near the front of the seat a partition is fixed for the
purpose of carrying off the urine, and causing it to pass through a pipe to a
receptacle placed to receive it. Above the seat is a reservoir filled with the
powder to be used. The powder in the said reservoir consists of the deodorizing
compound hereinafter described, or of other powder which when thrown on the
soil absorbs its moisture and makes therewith a dry and valuable manure.
The lower part of the reservoir is formed into a hopper, the pipe of which
passes through the seat and opens a short distance above a fixed horizontal
shelf. The said shelf is for the most part situated outside the receptacle for
the soil, but the inner end of the said shelf projects slightly into the said recep-
tacle. The said shelf is provided with vertical sides to prevent the powder
which falls from the hopper on to the said shelf escaping from the said shelf
laterally. Immediately under the seat is a horizontal plate or cover which
turns on an axis passing through the seat, and is provided with a handle at top
by which it can be turned. By means of the said handle the said cover can
be brought over the top of the receptacle for the soil, or turned aside so as to
leave the receptacle uncovered. On the under side of the said cover is a
scraper or brush, which when the cover is moved in the direction proper to
bring it over the receptacle, passes over the shelf on which the powder from

page_text: the reservoir has fallen, and sweeps the said powder from off the said shelf into
the receptacle, and on the soil which has been deposited therein; the cover
at the same time closes the bottom of the hopper. When the closet is about
to be used again the handle is turned so as to uncover the receptacle.. The
bottom of the hopper is at the sanie time opened and powder falls from the
reservoir on to the shelf until by the accumulation of the said powder its
further descent is prevented. The quantity of powder which is thrown into the
receptacle each time the closet is used, is greater or less according to the dis-
tance of the shelf on which it falls below the mouth of the hopper, and the
size of the mouth of the hopper. Instead of moving the cover by hand as
described, the apparatus may be made automatic, that is to say, the weight on
the seat of the person using the closet may be made to uncover the receptacle
and the return of the cover on the person rising from the seat may be effected
by a spring or weight. When I make the cover automatic I prefer to divide
the cover in the middle, and make it open by one half moving in one direction
and the other half in the other direction. The two halves are geared together
by pinions, and are acted upon by the seat, which is depressed on the person
using the closet. sitting upon it. The seat acts upon the halves of the cover
by means of a screw box working upon a screw or other mechanical equivalent.
When the deodorizer employed is in fine powder there is danger that it will
clog in the hopper; and I prefer to employ a stirrer in the hopper for the
purpose of loosening the powder in case of clogging: The said stirrer consists
of a rod with a series of cross pikes.
Having explained the nature of this part 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 transverse vertical section a dry closet constructed
according to one arrangement of my Invention; Figure 2 is a front.elevation
of a portion of the same; Figure 3 is a plan of the same; and Figure 4,
a plan of the same with the seat of the closet removed; Figures 5, 6, and 7,
represent portions of the same as herein-after explained. In Figures 1, 2, 3,
and 4, the opening in the seat is shewn uncovered. The same letters of
reference indicate the same parts in Figures 1, 2, 3, 4,
a is the seat of the closet underneath the opening
or receptacle c for the reception of the soil or ordure.
receptacle c (shewn separately in plan in Figure 5, and vertical section in
Figure 6) is supported in its place by brackets, one of which only marked d,
is represented in the Drawing. Or the receptacle c may be supported in any
other convenient manner. The said receptacle c may have an internal lining
5, 6, and 7..
in which is a chamber
The said chamber or

page_text: capable of being lifted through the openin in the seat a, so as to remove the
soil therefrom; or the receptacle itself may be made capable of removal for
that purpose. In front of the chamber c and below the seat a a partition e is
fixed for carrying off the urine, the said urine passing through a pipef to a
receptacle placed to receive it. Above and at one corner of the seat is a
reservoir 9 containing the deodorizing or other powder to be used. The lower
part of the reservoir is made in the form of a hopper, the pipe of which is
expanded in the manner represented, and passes through a hole in the seat a,
and opens a short distance above a fixed horizontal shelf h on one side of the
chamber or receptacle c for the soil. The greater part of the shelf his
situated outside the receptacle c, the inner end projecting slightly into the said
receptacle (see. Figures 5 and 6). The said shelf h has vertical sides for
preventing the powder which falls from the hopper 92 escaping from the shelf
laterally. The opening in the seat. is opened and closed by a horizontal
plate or cover i, situated underneath the seat. The said cover-is-represented
separately in Figure 7, the said Figure 7 representing a plan of under side
and edge view of the said cover. The cover i-turns upon a vertical axis,
passing through the seat a, the said axis having a handle at its upper end by
which the said cover can be turned. When the handle is turned in one
-direction the cover i is turned aside into the position best seen in Figure 4,
and the opening b in the seat a and the top of the receptacle c for the soil are
uncovered. When the handle is turned in the opposite direction to that last
described, the cover i is brought over the top of the receptacle c so as to close it
and the opening b.in the seat. On the under side of the cover is a brush m,
or a scraper niay be used,) which when the said cover is moved in the
direction proper to close the receptacle, passes over the shelf, h on which the
powder from the hopper g2 has fallen, and sweeps the said powder from off
the said shelf into the receptacles c and on the soil which has been deposited
therein, the said cover at the same time closing the bottom of the hopper g².
On using the closet again the, handle 7 is moved so as to turn the cover i
. aside, into the position represented in Figure 4; the bottom of the hopper g²
is thereby opened, and powder again falls from the reservoir g on to the
shelf until by the accumulation of the said power its further descent is
arrested. The quantity of powder which is thrown into the receptacle c each
time the closet is used is greater or less according to the distance of the
shelf h.below.the mouth of the hopper 9, and the size of the mouth of the
hopper. The position of the mouth of the hopper above the shelf h is indi-
cated in dotted lines in Figure 4, the said Figure 4 also shewing the position
the cover i takes in order to uncover the mouth of the said hopper to permit

page_text: of the descent of the powder on to the shelf h. On closing the receptacle 'c
by the cover i after using the closet, the powder deposited on the shelf-h is
swept off by the brush m in the manner before described. When the powder
used in the reservoir g is liable to clog, I use a stirrer n in the hopper for
the purpose of loosening the powder and ensuring it passing to the shelf h.
The stirrer n consists of a rod having a series of cross spikes at its ends, the
said rod working in a tube situated in the reservoir g. The said stirrer is
raised and allowed to descend in the hopper g² each time the closet is used in
the following manner:-The said stirrer is weighted at top, a cord o from
which passes over pulleys p, and is connected to the loop or eye q fixed. near
the jointed part of the cover i.; the said loop. or eye q works in the curved
slot q made in the seat a (see Figure 3). When the cover i is turned aside to
uncover the receptacle c, the loop q is moved to the end. of the slot q most
distant from the opening in the seat a, as represented in Figure 3, and the
stirrer n is allowed to descend by its own weight in the hopper 9. When,
however, the cover i is made to close the receptacle c, the loop 7 is moved to the
other end of the slot q2; and the stirrer n is thereby raised in the hopper g³ to
a distance equal to the length of the slot q; the powder in the hopper, is by
this means loosened in case of clogging, and, the requisite quantity allowed to
pass to the shelf h...
Figures 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 represent the arrangement of my Invention
in which the cover of the apparatus is made automatic, Figure 8 repre-
senting a plan of the closet constructed according to this. arrangement;
Figure 9 the same with the seat removed; Figure 10 represents the under
side of the seat separately; Figure 11 represents a longitudinal vertical
section, and Figure 12 a transverse vertical section of the closet..... In
the said Figures 8, 9, 11, and 12; the receptacle for the soil is represented
closed. The same letters indicate the same parts in Figures 8, 9, 10, 11,
and 12.
In this arrangement of my Invention I make the cover by which the
receptacle is opened and closed in two halves marked s, t, the said halves
turning on vertical axes, and moving one in one direction and the other in
the other direction. The said halves s, t, of the cover are geared together by
pinions u, v.
The receptacle c for the soil is provided in this arrangement
with two shelves w for receiving the powder, the said powder.being supplied
by two reservoirs situated in the back corners of the seat.
The said reser
voirs are not shewn in the Drawing, but the mouths of the hoppers of the
said reservoirs are represented in Figure 8, and marked a, y. The halves
s, t, of the cover are provided with brushes 1, 2, (or scrapers) by which, on

page_text: '
the closing of the receptacle c by the halves of the cover. the powder supplied
to the shelves w is swept off into the receptacle in the way herein-before
described. The halves s, t, of the cover are acted upon by the seat 3, so as
to open or close the receptacle c in the following manner :-The said seat 3
moves vertically, upon dovetails 4,-4,-at-the sides of the framing of the seat,
the said seat having dovetail grooves 5 which work upon the said dovetails 4.
The said seat 3 is made to descend by the weight of the person using the
closet, and is raised on the rising of the person from the seat by springs 6
acting on the under side of the seat. The axis to which the pinion u is
äffixed is made into a quick-threaded screw 7 (see Figure 12) which is acted
upon by a screw box 8 fixed on the under side of the rising and falling
seat 3. When the seat 3 descends by the weight of the person using the
closet, the said screw box 8 works upon the screw 7, and gives to the said
screw and to the pinions u, v, on the halves s, t, of the cover-a-partial-rotation;
and causes the said halves to move in opposite direction from one another;
ánd uncover the top of the receptacle c, as indicated in dotted lines in
Figure 9. On the rising of the person from the seat 3, the said seat is raised
by the springs 6, and the screw box 8 is thereby made to rise upon the
screw 7, and to give to the said screw and to the pinions u, v, motion in a
contrary direction to that first described, and cause the halves s, t, of the cover
to close the receptacle c, as illustrated in the Drawing.
-
My improvements in deodorizing substances to be used in privies, dry
closets, and commodes consist in making a deodorizing compound or mixture
in the following manner:-I take light street sweepings, consisting mainly
of horse droppings, and carbonize the same at a low temperature, and I mix
it with gypsum and dried or roasted clay; I employ these materials in about
equal quantities, but I do not limit myself to these proportions. I reduce
the mixture to powder by means of rolls or otherwise. The deodorizing
compound may either be employed in fine or in coarse powder, or in a
granulated state." In place of street sweepings, spent tan or other waste
organic matter may be employed.
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 and illustrated in the
Drawings, as the same may be varied without departing from the nature of
my Invention; but I claim as my Invention,
Firstly, the general arrangement or combination of the parts of privies, dry
closets, and commodes, herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 1,
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of the accompanying Drawing.

page_text: Secondly, the general arrangement or combination of the parts of privies,
dry closets, and commodes, herein-before described and illustrated in Figures 8,
9, 10, 11, and 12 of the accompanying Drawing.
Thirdly, the improvements in deodorizing materials or compounds, herein-
before described, to be used in privies, dry closets, and commodes.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alfred Hill, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Twelfth day of April, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
Witness,
RICHARD SKERRETT,
Clerk to George Shaw,
Birmingham.
ALFRED HILL. (L.S.)