IMPROVEMENTS IN AND CONNECTED WITH WATERCLOSETS AND OTHER SANITARY APPLIANCES
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Randall Mann, of East Cowes, in the
Isle of Wight, for the Invention of “IMPROVEMENTS IN AND CONNECTED
WITH WATERCLOSETS AND OTHER SANITARY APPLIANCES,
Scaled the 16th August 1870, and dated the 26th February 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Randall Mann
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 26th February 1870.
I, JOHN RANDALL MANN, of East Cowes, in the Isle of Wight, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
AND CONNECTED WITH WATERCLOSETS AND OTHER SANITARY APPLIANCES," to be as
follows:-
The chief objects of my Invention are to produce a proper and more.
complete removal of the contents of waterclosets, and to prevent the
rising of any gases from the discharge or soil pipes. And the Invention
mainly consists in the application of a syphon action for emptying
closets.

page_text: In carrying out my Invention I connect to the bottom or lower part
of the pan or basin or to a bend or elbow pipe at the bottom or lower
part of the same a syphon pipe, the long leg of which communicates
with the pipe which leads to the drain or sewer, and I so arrange the
supply of water to the closet that when a handle is pulled to admit the
water for flushing and discharging it a comparatively large quantity is
supplied suddenly to the basin or pan, and another volume is supplied to
it gradually. In some cases I provide a water seal at the lower end of
the long leg of the syphon, and this leg may be made adjustable so as to
dip more or less into the water which forms this seal.
The action of the closet is as follows:-Before the handle is pulled
the basin contains its normal quantity of, say, half a gallon of water.
When the handle is pulled about, say, another half gallon of water is
suddenly discharged into the basin, and the impulse or effect thus pro-
duced drives forward the air in the syphon and thereby causes a syphon
action to take place, so that the contents of the basin pass through the
syphon into the soil or drain pipe. The volume of water which is
supplied gradually to the basin as before mentioned not being able of
itself to maintain the syphon action this action ceases, and a sufficient
portion of this water remains in the basin, which thus receives and
retains its normal quantity.¨
may
Various arrangements for supplying the water in the manner described
be adopted, and they will depend to some extent upon circum-
stances, but I may mention that a supplementary water vessel to give
the sudden supply in combination with means similar to those ordinarily
adopted for flushing and supplying the basin will be found convenient in
many instances.
In order to facilitate examination and repair in case of derangement
the syphon pipe may have an aperture at the bend provided with an
air-tight cover.
Although I have described my Invention only as applied to water-
closets it may also be applied to other sanitary appliances; such as
urinals, wash-hand basins, and sinks.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Randall. Mann in the Great Scal Patent
Office on the 25th August 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
RANDALL MANN, of East Cowes, in the Isle of Wight, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of February, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the
thirty-third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said John Randall Mann, Her special
licence that I, the said John Randall Mann, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said John Randall Mann,
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 AND CONNECTED WITH WATERCLOSETS AND OTHER SANITARY APPLIANCES," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Randall Mann,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
or their, or one of their hands and scals, 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 John Randall Mann, do hereby
declare the nature of my 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, reference being had to the
accompanying Drawings, that is to say :-
This Invention has for its object the rendering practically useful a
syphon arrangement for emptying waterclosets whilst retaining ample
waterway for the exit of the contents, and at the same time rendering
the return of the foul gases from the drains almost impossible.
In carrying out my Invention I connect to the bottom or lower part
of the pan or basin a syphon pipe, the long leg of which connects with
the soil pipe or with a trap which leads to the drain or sewer.

page_text: The action of the closet is as follows:-Before the handle is pulled
the basin contains its normal quantity of water, say one-third of a gallon,
which while serving for the proper reception of foul matters at the same
time seals the communication between the basin and the syphon pipe
which leads to the drain. When the handle is pulled a quantity of
water, say half a gallon, is quickly discharged into the basin, and the
impulse and effect thus produced cause the water to flow up the short
leg of the syphon and over its top bend, falling down its longer leg and
driving forward the air or a portion of the air contained therein, and in
passing through or out of the bottom of the longer leg the water is
checked in its flow, and the syphon is brought into or continued in
_action, drawing_the_contents_of_the_basin_forward-so-as-to-pass-on-into-
the soil pipe, trap, or drain without allowing foul air to escape back-
wards into the basin or apartment. An additional quantity of water,
say one quarter of a gallon, is further supplied to the basin to recharge
it, this last quantity not being sufficient in its volume or in the rapidity
of its inflow to retain or to bring the syphon in action.
'
The check action in the longer leg of the syphon may be produced in
various ways. One method I adopt is to insert this longer leg of thic
syphon into the top of an ordinary shaped D trap, as shewn in Figure A.
of the annexed Drawings, allowing the end of the leg to terminate at
about three-quarters of an inch above the still water surface in the trap.
When the discharge is passing the water surface in the trap is raised,
sealing the end of the syphon leg and continuing the syphon action.
Another method I adopt is to bend the long leg of the syphon so as
to cause this check action; this may be done by various sharp bends,
one arrangement of which is shewn in Figure C.
I employ sometimes as an additional security an air pipe connected to
the soil pipe or drain at a point beyond the syphon and the part that
causes the check action, and carried therefrom to the external air. And
this air pipe I employ always when the soil or drain pipe from a trap or
other impediment at a short distance would otherwise impede the action
of the syphon.
Various arrangements for supplying the water may be adopted, and
they will depend necessarily on circumstances. The water may be
supplied by hand from an ordinary pail or vessel, or from the ordinary
watercloset cistern, or direct from the main; but where there is a head or

page_text: CH
the force therefrom or part
of it.
One method I adopt, which is shewn in Figure A., is to carry from an
ordinary overhead cistern a pipe vertically from the bottom of such
cistern, say down to the seat of the closet, and in this pipe I seat an
ordinary spindle valve or round valve at a sufficient distance from the
bottom thereof to allow of that part below the valve acting as the
recharging vessel; and the valve being acted on by a wire passing
down the cistern and pipe any leakage from the valve passes into the
watercloset basin, the vertical pipe also being of large enough diameter
to allow of the valve being drawn up to be re-leathered or reseated. The
part of this vertical pipe below the valve, as previously stated, together
with the pipes therefrom would act as a recharging vessel. From it
would pass 2 or 3 smaller pipes to the watercloset basin; one of these I
recommend should pass to an ordinary fan water spreader so as to flush
round the basin; another pipe would pass from the bottom of the
recharge vessel to the basin, and may throw in its water as a jet to sink
any paper, &c. therein. A third pipe is required as an air pipe passing
from the top of the recharge vessel also to the basin (this may also act
as a jet) if the pipe to the fan spreader is not used as an air pipe. These
pipes, 2 or 3 in number, may be of various sizes, ¼ inch or ¾ inch in
diameter. On opening the valve the water fills the recharge vessel and
escapes by these pipes into the basin; one pipe flushes the basin, and
the water from the other or others sinks any paper, &c., and this other
or these others is or are so placed as to drive the paper, &c. towards and
into the outlet from the basin. The valve being held open for two or
more seconds to allow of sufficient water entering the basin to empty it
of foul matter the valve is shut, the flow into the basin is checked or
stopped, and the water contained in the vessel gradually flows into the
basin to recharge it. Or instead of a large vertical supply pipe a smaller
supply pipe may be used to supply a box containing the valve, the valve
being actuated by a rod or spindle passing through a small stuffing
box. But many methods may be adopted for this, and the water may
be carried in various ways into the basin, or part of it into the syphon
itself.
In order to facilitate examination and repair in case of derangement
the syphon pipe may have an aperture at the bend provided with an

page_text: have an aperture provided with an air-tight cover.
be bedded in ordinary glaziers' putty or in cement.
These covers may
The basin may be of various shapes, but I recommend that shewn in
the Drawing, where the pipes are carried into it, as shewn; and it and
the syphon and the D trap may be of various materials, such as glazed
earthenware, porcelain, lead, or other material, or a combination of them,
and may be made in one or various jointed pieces for facility of manu-
facture or of transport.
The advantages of this Invention are that no foul gases can escape
from the drains, the water in the basin itself forming a seal; there is no
moveable metallic mechanism operating between the basin and the
drain; there is no danger of overflow, the communication to the drain
being always open; and the waste pipes from the cistern, &c. may be
carried into the basin instead of as usual into a dirty trap; the action of
the watercloset may be made almost noiseless, and the closet is emptied
_with_a_reasonable amount of water. The shallow depth of water in the
basin and the shape of the curve in the short leg of the syphon when
the water is applied as shewn in the Drawings tend very considerably
to the economy of the water. The longer leg of the syphon may be
of various lengths, but I recommend between fifteen and twenty-four
inches.
My Invention may be applied to sanitary appliances other than water-
closets, for example, to urinals, wash-hand basins, and sinks, in cases
where an emptying pipe of large sectional area is considered desirable in
order to prevent stoppages in the exit of paper and of foul matters.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure A. is a longitudinal section of a watercloset constructed
according to my Invention, and Figure B. is a transverse section of the
basin. 1 is the basin; 2, the syphon bend; 3, the lower end of the long
leg of the syphon. This may be made round in section, as shewn, so
that the D trap below may be turned in any direction. 4 is the D trap
under the long leg of the syphon; 5, the outflow from the trap into the
drain; 6 is a section of the syphon pipe; 7, a section of the lower end
of the longer leg of the syphon pipe; 8, a section of the outlet of the
D trap at the point marked 5; 6 and 7ª are hand holes and covers;
11 is the recharge vessel; 12, the water pipe from the same acting also
as an air pipe to empty the recharge vessel, and which may also act as a

page_text: jet into the basin; 13 is the pipe to supply the fan water spreader;
14, the supply pipe to the basin; 15, the fan water spreader; 16, the
valve, the opening and shutting of which being all that is required to
empty and recharge the watercloset; 17 is an expansion pipe or vessel
to ease the shock from the sudden closing of the valve; 18 is the supply
pipe from the cistern; 19, the wire for acting on the valve; 16 and 20,
the waste pipe from the cistern.
Figure C. is a section of a bent arrangement of the long leg of the
syphon. This or other combination of sharp bends may be used to
produce the check in the flow through' the long leg of the syphon for
emptying the watercloset.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that I claim as my
* Improvements in and connected with Waterclosets and other Sanitary
Appliances,"
"
First. Combining a syphon with a trap, as shewn in Figure A. (which
trap is not sealed when the water is still), or with sharp bends, as shewn
in Figure C., or with similar checks, so that the back flow of the air
into the syphon being temporarily prevented the syphon is brought
into or continued in action, and the contents of the closet or other
sanitary appliance are thereby emptied, all substantially as herein-before.
described.
Secondly. In combination with the said arrangement of syphon I
claim an arrangement by which a quantity of water is quickly discharged
into the basin of the closet or other appliance, and a further quantity of
water is supplied to recharge the basin, substantially as herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Randall Mann, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of August One
thousand night hundred and