improvements in or Applicable to water and owner Closers, Lavatories, and the like.
Year: 1886

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Aug., 1886
Complete Left, 3rd May, 1887.
Complete Accepted, 10th June, 1887
improvements in or Applicable to water and owner Closers,
Lavatories, and the like.
°
I PERCIVAL EVERITT, of No. 47 Cannon Street, in the city of London, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to providing means whereby water and other closets,
lavatories, and the like at public places are made available for use by the introduction
into a suitable receptacle of a coin, token or the like.
It will be obvious that there are numerous ways of carrying out my automatic
sanitary appliances and for the purpose of illustrating the principle of the invention
I will describe one arrangement for carrying it into effect. I use an ordinary water-
closet, but in place of the seat being fixed in its position, it is held elevated by a
counterpoise weight or spring and the framework of the closet is so arranged that
a person cannot sit down upon it. I provide at the side or in any convenient position
an aperture for coin which communicates with a suitable unlocking apparatus. On
the insertion of a proper coin into the aperture the seat is automatically unlocked and
the person wishing to use the apparatus will be enabled to pull the seat, down into a
position for use.
It is obvious that the reverse of this arrangement can be employed, that is to say,
the closet can be altogether closed and on the insertion of a coin the lid can be raised
and the apparatus used.
G. F. REDFERN,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London,
Agent for the Applicant.

page_text: Improvements in or Applicable to Water and other Closets,
Lavatories, and the like.
I, PEROIVAL EVERITT, of No. 47, Cannon Street, in the City of London, Engineer
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to bo
performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
This invention relates to providing means whereby water and other closets,
lavatories, and the like at public places are made available for use by the introduction
into a suitable receptacle of a coin, token, or the like.
.
It will be obvious that there are numerous ways of carrying out my automatic
sanitary appliances and for the purpose of illustrating the principle of the invention
I will describe one arrangement for carrying it into effect most advantageously.
I use an ordinary water-closet, but in place of the seat being fixed in its position, it is
held elevated by a counterpoise weight or spring and the framework of the closet is so
arranged that a person cannot without inconvenience sit down upon the framework.
I provide at the side or in any convenient position an aperture for coin which com-
municates with a suitable unlocking apparatus. On the insertion of a proper coin
into the aperture the seat is automatically unlocked and the person wishing to use the
apparatus will be enabled to pull the soat down into a position for use.
It is obvious that the reverse of this arrangement can be employed, that is to say,
the closet can be altogether closed and on the insertion of a coin the lid can be raised
and the apparatus used.
In order to enable my invention to be fully understood I will proceed to describe
the manner in which it may be advantageously carried into effect by reference to the
accompanying drawings in which figure 1 represents a plan view of a water-closet
constructed and arranged so as to be made available for use by the introduction into
a receptacle of a coin, token, or the like, the coin in this arrangement releasing the
seat of the closet so as to allow it to be pulled down into position for use; figure 2 is
a central longitudinal vertical section of figure 1. Figures 1 and 2 shew the seat of
the closet in its raised position, in full lines and in its lowered position in dotted lines.
Similar letters in both the figures represent similar parts.
A, represents the water-closet pan of ordinary construction enclosed by a box or
casing B in tho usual manner; u, is the seat which, instead of being fixed in position
for use as usual I hinge at b, to the top part of the box or casing B; c, is the counter-
poise whereby the seat a, is normally held in an elevated or raised position as shown
by the full lines in figure 2 (or a spring may be used for this purpose as will be
obvious); d, d, represent a series of short pins or spikes projecting upwards from the
edge of the front part of the casing B, for the purpose of preventing a person sitting
down upon it, a recess or recesses e, being formed in the underside of the sent
receiving the said pins or spikes when the seat is lowered as clearly shewn by the
a,
for

page_text: dotted lines in figure 2; f, (Figure 1) is the aperture for coin, made in a suitable
casing g, at the side of the closet the said casing serving to enclose the unlocking
apparatus which is conveniently constructed as follows:--the pivot or rod to which
the sent a, is fixed, extends into the casing 9, where an arm h, is fixed thereto so that
it moves with the seat a, the arm being normally prevented from moving forwards or
downwards by the shorter arm i, of a pivotted counterweighted lever or bar i, j; the
longer arm, of this lever carries a bucket or box k,for the reception of the coin,
the weight of which coin is sufficient to overbalance the counterweighted arm i; the
bucket, has an open top and is situated immediately below the money slit f, except
when operated by a coin or the like; the bottom of the bucket is provided with an.
opening, which is partly closed by a pivotted block c', carrying an arm or counter-
weight d'. The opening b, is just of sufficient length to allow the coin (indicated by
a dotted line in figure 2) to pass through when the block c, is rotated clear thereof as
hereinafter described; when the counterweighted arm i, is overbalanced by the weight
of the coin in the bucket k, it will be seen that the stop or lock is removed from the
arm h, and the seat is thereby rendered free to be lowered; a', is a finger or catch
working loosely within the pivot 1, of the block c¹, and resting on a bar or
projection g¹, on the block in such a manner that when the bucket k, is lowered by
the weight of the coin placed therein the finger or catch a', will, by coming in contact
with the pins or catches », on a vertical rod which I will presently describe, be raised
and pass by the pins r; 1,, and, represent a three-armed lever pivotted at n; the
long vertical arm l, of this lever is provided with a catch o, which is caused by a
counterweight p, on the short arm A, to pass onto the arm 1, when the seat a, is
lowered as illustrated in dotted lines in figure 2; the arm P, has jointed to it at m,
the vertical rod 4, just referred to, which carries at its upper end the series of pins,
for releasing the coin from the bucket k, when the rod q, is drawn downwards in the
manner hereinafter described; by this movement of the rod q, one of the pins 1, is
caused to bear on the upper side of the finger or catch a', which will thereby press
down the bar or projection g', and move the block c', out of the opening in the bottom
of the bucket k, and the coin will then be free to drop out of the bucket; to the lower
part of the door of the closet I attach a curved link s, adapted, by the opening and
closing of the door, to operate a bar t, sliding in a guide u; the opposite end of the
har t, is formed with an inclined upper surface as shewn at v, in dotted lines at
figure 2, which inclined surface when the door C, is opened (as represented in dotted
lines) by a person leaving the closet, forces the counterweight, by bearing on the
underside of the same, to rise, thereby depressing the rod 9, and causing the pins r,
to open the coin bucket k, and release the coin; the same movement of the bar t,
releases the catch o, from the arm h, which, with the seat a, is then carried into its
vertical position by its counterweight c; w, is an elastic stop or buffer to receive the
seat when so moved; æ, is a pin or stop for limiting the downward movement of the
lever arm j.
By this construction the parts being in the position shewn in full lines, if a person
desire to use the closet, it is obvious from what has been stated that this cannot be
done without great inconvenience unless the seat a, be lowered; a coin must therefore
be inserted in the slit, when it will fall into the bucket k, and by its weight will
carry down the longer arm j, and raise the shorter arm i, of the lever i, j, into the
position shewn in dotted lines thereby removing the stop or lock from the arm h, and
the finger or catch a', of the coin bucket will pass by and engage with the pins r, on
the upper end of the rod g; the seat a, can now be pulled down and in lowering the
same the arm h, will engage with the catch o, and be thereby locked in position;
upon the person opening the door C, to leave the closet the bar t, will operate the
lever,,, so as to simultaneously release the catch o, from the arm h, and draw
down the rod g; the seat will by this means be free to be raised by its counter-
weight c, and the pins r, will press down the finger or catch a', of the bucket k, and
release the coin which will fall into a suitable receptacle within the casing g; the
bucket being relieved of the weight of the coin will rise into its former position and
the arm h, and seat a, will be locked in their raised position and cannot be again

page_text: unlocked except by the insertion of another coin in the slit f; on another person
entering the closet and closing the door C, the lever 1, 1, 6, and rod g, will be moved
by the counterweight p, back into position ready to again lock the seat a, when
lowered and release the next coin used to operate the locking lever i, j, and so on.
When employing the arrangement wherein the closet is altogether closed and the
lid is unlocked by means of a coin or the like the mechanism is substantially the same
as that hereinbefore described and illustrated with the exception that the catches
operate in a reverse manner, that is to say, that the lid is normally locked in its
lowered position and is unlocked by the action of the coin when it will be free to be
raised by the person. On the person leaving the closet the opening of the door will
cause the lid to be closed and it will be secured in its closed position by the lever
operated upon by the coin.
I have described and illustrated my invention as applied to a water-closet but it
will be obvious that it can be also applied to other closets, and to lavatories and the
like.
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 use in combination with a water-closet lavatory or other like apparatus
intended to be used from time to time, of resetting, locking and releasing mechanism
of the kind herein described, being so constructed and arranged that the same can
only be made available for ordinary use by the insertion in a suitable receptacle of a
proper coin, token or the like.
2. The improved water-closets constructed and arranged as herein described so that
they can only be made available for ordinary use by the agency of a coin, token, or
the like as hereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.