IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ARRANGEMENT AND CONSTRUCTION OF LAVATORIES
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Blundell, George Thomas Blundell, and
James Walter Blundell, all of Limehouse, in the County of
Middlesex, Engineers and Coppersmiths, for the Invention of "In-
GRAFEN
"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Blundell,
George Thomas Blundell, and James Walter Blundell at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with their Petition, on the
22nd February 1873.
We, THOMAS BLUNDELL, GEORGE THOMAS BLUNDELL, and JAMES
WALTER BLUNDELL, all of Limehouse, in the County of Middlesex,
Engineers and Coppersmiths, do hereby declare the nature of the said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ARRANGEMENT AND CONSTRUCTION OF
LAVATORIES," to bo as follows :—
This Invention consists of an arrangement by which the power deve-
loped by water running from the hand basin of a lavatory is used to
raiso a fresh supply of water from a reservoir surrounding or balow the

page_text: When it is desired to empty the basin the valve cock or that way of a
cock communicating with the pipe or passage connecting the waste water
container with the basin is then opened, the waste water then flows into
the container. The pressure of the column of water in this connecting
pipe compresses the air in the waste water container and in the lower
compartment or vessel of the clean water reservoir, by which means a
power is provided which forces a fresh supply of clean water from the
lower compartment of the reservoir into the upper part or measure, from
which it can be admitted to the washing basin when required; or tho
air in the container and reservoir being compressed, as before described,
it may be kept in compression, so that by its prossure the clean water
may be forced up into the basin when required.
"
"
"The upper compartment of the reservoir may be omitted, and tho
reservoir consist of but one vessel, which may be entirely below the hand
basin if the first quantity of water required for use in the hand basin bo
drawn from some source independant of the reservoir. There must
however be a greater distance from the level of the water in the wasto
container to the hand basin than from the level of the water in the
reservoir to the hand basin.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Thomas Blundell, George Thomas Blundell, and
James Walter Blundell in. the Great Seal Patent Office on tho
21st August 1878.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, WO, THOMAS
BLUNDELL, GEORGE THOMAS BLUNDELL, and JAMES WALTER BLUNDELL,
all of Limehouse, in the County of Middlesex, Engineers and Copper-
smiths, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of February, in tho
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in tho
thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto us, the said Thomas Blundell, George Thomas
Blundell, and James Walter Blundell, Her special licence that wo, the
said Thomas Blundell, George Thomas Blundell, and James Walter

page_text: Blundell, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
we, the said Thomas Blundell, George Thomas Blundell, and James
Walter Blundell, our 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, exerciso, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands; and Isle of Man, an Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE ARRANGEMENT AND CONSTRUCTION OF LAVATORIES,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that we, the said Thomas Blundell,
George Thomas Blundell, and James Walter Blundell, our executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under our, or their, or
one of their hands 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 we, the said Thomas Blundell, George Thomas
Blundell, and James Walter Blundell, do hereby declare the nature of
our said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, that is to say :-
•
This Invention consists of an arrangement by which the power
developed by water running from the hand basin of a lavatory is used
to raise a fresh supply of water from a reservoir surrounding or below
tho hand basin into the said basin or into a measure above the basin,
from which it can be drawn for use at pleasure.
•
In this Invention the clean water reservoir consists of a vessel in two
compartments, the one above the other, the upper one of which forms a
measure to regulate the quantity of water supplied in each refilling of
the hand basin, while the lower one contains the clean water, and may;
be placed below the washing basin, or be made of suitable form to sur-
round the basin and be partly below it. This reservoir is fitted with a
filling aperture, so that both compartments can be filled. ·
.
Instead of using a vessel with two compartments two seperate, vessels
suitably connected can be used.
The waste water container is situated below the clean water reservoir.
It is an air-tight vessel, and it is fitted with an aperture or apertures by

page_text: which the waste water can be drawn off and the interior of the container
cleansed. Theso apertures are mado to close air-tight.
Thero is a pipe or passagó connecting the upper part of the lower
compartment of the clean water reservoir with the upper part of the
wasto water container, which pipe or passage is so formed that the
pressure upon the surfaces of the liquids in both vessels shall be tho.
same, and so that there shall be no commingling of the dirty water in
the container with the clean water in the reservoir.
The washing basin is furnished with two valves or with a cock or
cocks, by one or by one way of which a passage or pipo communicating
with the clean water reservoir can be opened or closed at pleasuro, and
by the other or other way a passage or pipe communicating with the
waste water container at or near the bottom can be similarly opened or
closed at pleasure.
The action of this improved lavatory is as follows:-The reservoir
being supplied with a sufficiency of clean water, upon opening the valve,
cock, or that way of a cock communicating with the pipo or passago
connecting the washing basin with this reservoir, a supply of water
flows into the basin. The valve or cock is then closed. The reservoir,
) as before stated, consists of two compartments or of two vessels, part of
the reservoir being in such position that the clean water will flow from
it to the hand basin.
When it is desired to empty the hand basin tho valve, cock, or that way
of the cock communicating with the passage connecting the waste water
; container with the basin is then opened; the waste water then flows into
the container. The pressure of the coluinu of water in this connecting
pipe compresses the air in the waste water container and in the lower
compartment or vessel of the clean water reservoir, by which means a
power is provided which forces a fresh supply of clean water from the
b lower compartment of the reservoir into the upper part or measuro, from
which it can be admitted to the washing basin when required; or the
air in the container and reservoir being compressed, as before described,
it may be kept in compression, so that by its pressure the clean water
may be forced up into the basin when required.
5 The upper compartment of the reservoir may be omitted, and the
reservoir consist of but one vessel, which may be entirely below the hand
basin if the first quantity of water required for use in the hand basin bo

page_text: drawn from some source independant of the reservoir. Thero must
however be a greater distance from the level of the water in the waste
container to the hand basin than from the level of the water in the
reservoir to the hand basin.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING.
Fig. 1 represents a side elevation of one method of constructing a
lavatory with our improvements; and Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the
same on line A, B.
1
a is the hand basin, which has the reservoir 6 partly below it and
partly surrounding it; the upper part of the reservoir is partitioned
off and forms the measure c; d is the container of the waste water;'
e is the filling aperture of the reservoir; f is a hinged door to the
waste container, by which it can be thoroughly cleaned; g is a cock by 1
which tho wasto water is drawn off; h is a pipe connecting the upper
part of d with the upper part of the lower compartment of the reservoir b;
this pipe is taken upwards above the partition in order that the part of
the reservoir forming the measure c may be filled with clean water
through the aperture e; k is a two-way cock, which permits communi- 2
cation between the basin a and the lower part of the container d by the
way 1, and between the basin a and the reservoir 6 by the way 2; m is
a vent pipe, by which the air escapes from the lower compartment of the
reservoir 6 when it is being filled with clean water; this pipe m is closed
by a cock in the hinge of the cover n of the filling aperture when the 2
cover is shut, and opened when the cover is opened; o is a pipe con-
necting the measure with the lower compartment of the reservoir 6 in
such way that the air compressed in the lower compartment may not
escapo.
Sometimes we make the pipe o of the form shown by dotted 3
lines p, so that the water, having been forced from the lower compart-
ment of b into the measuro c, cannot return by that same pipe o, p,
and in this case we connect way 2 of cock k directly with the measuro c
by a pipe or passage shown by dotted lineṣ q, q.
Having described the nature of our said Invention, and a method of 3
performing the same, we would have it understood that we do not

page_text: confine ourselves to the precise arrangement of parts shown in the
Drawing, and that our Invention is applicable to the baths of a lavatory
as well as to the hand basins; but what we claim is, such an arrange-
ment of the parts, pipes, or vessels of a lavatory that by receiving tho
; wasto water in air-tight slop containers wo can utilizo the pressure of the
wasto water to compress the air in the container and in air-tight clean
water reservoirs, so that clean water may be raised from the said
reservoirs to lavatories above or partly above those reservoirs.
In witness whercof, we, the said Thomas Blundell, George Thomas
Blundell, and James Walter Blundell, have hereunto set our
hands and seals, this
day of August, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-threo.
Witness,
T¤°³. WILKINS,
Patent Agont,
THOMAS BLUNDELL.
(L.S.)
GEORGE THOMAS BLUNDELL. (L.S.)
JAMES WALTER BLUNDELL.
(L.S.)
52, Gracechurch S'.,
London,
E.O.