US2529587A - Toilet seal for augmenting the flushing capacity of toilet tanks in unstopping sewers - Google Patents

Description

1950 H. u. BATES ET AL 2,529,587

TOILET SEAL FOR AUGMENTING THE FLUSHING CAPACITY OF TOILET TANKS IN UNSTOPPING SEWERS Filed Nov. 12. 1947 John T enftins I N VEN TORS M Burg U .Baieb flT TOR NE)- Patented Nov. 14,1950

' TOILET: snAL Angeles, Calif.

Our invention'relates to a toilet seal for au menting the flushing'capacity of toilet tanks in un-stopping temporary stopped-up sewers.

The invention also pertains to new steps in the-method of unstopping a cloggedsewer.

It'is not infrequent that patrons, especially of service stationsgpublic toilets, and often-times the same habit is practiced in hotels and apartment houses of throwinginto the toilet bowl disf carded sanitary napkins, which together with toilet seat covers and'the use of newspaper'toilet paper and the like after repeated performances temporarily stop up the toilet bowl and sewer thereby necessitating calling in the service of a plumber or plumbers assistant, to remove the stoppage.

The practice of having to call in the plumber from time to time is an expensive one and if the defect is not remedied at once it soon creates an unsanitary condition which is injurious tothe public welfare. 7

Accordingly, it is a paramount object of this invention to provide means for closing air-tightly the mouths of conventional water closet bowls to augment the flushing capacity of a toilet tank by compressing the entrapped air in the bowl as a a result of the water flowing into the bowl, until the combined built-up pressures of water and air become great'enough to flush away any .minor stoppage in the closet bowl and/or in the sewer line adjacent theretoto remove obstacles of the like aforementioned.

, Further objects include a device having a new mode of operation and a new mode of assembling and whose function is entirely different from anything heretofore contemplated.

Also, it is an object to provide new steps in the method of blowingv out obstructions tempoffrarily stopping up toilet bowls and sewer lines.

Other objects, advantages and features of invention will hereinafter appear.

Referring to the drawing'wherein is shown a preferred embodiment of the invention,

. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a water closet andtoilet bowl equipped with the improved device, a portion of the floor upon which the toilet bowl rests being broken away to expose the closed-off sewer. q,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

.Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the bowl apart from the toilet seal. t

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the toilet seal per se on a scale similar to thatshown in Fi 529,587 l V t V ,ron AUGMENTINGa -Tflii -,FLUSHING,5CA PACITY,OF TOILETTANKS q i1 Unsrorrmesnwms, Harry' U. Bates and'John 'r; Perkins,

' Calif.;=said Bates assignor to Jess E. Te'el, Lois...

Los Ang'eles,

ApplicationlNoveni ber 12, 1947, Serial s.,j;j7s5,4 "l-Claim. (01. 4-257) ,:7

Referring in detail to the drawing and first Fig. 1, included among the conventional parts are the water closet bowl B, the water closet C connected to the closet-bowl, the water intake line W, the handle'Hfor' flushing the bowl, and the sewer line S into whichqthe flushing water and; waste matter from thebowl flows.

As shown in Fig. 2 the rim of the bowl B is equipped witha downturned flange F extending inwardly around the bowl. H The toilet seal-4 fincludes a cover plate 5,

a gasket 'of thick spongy rubber underlyingsaid cover plate in a fixed relation thereto, an elongated threaded bolt 1, the end thereof opposite its head extending upwardly through the cover and gasket, an elongated locking bar 8 swingably carried by the bolt head 9 in a downwardly spaced relation to said plate and gasket, a lock nut ID to secure said bar fixedly to said bolt head, a. wing nut ll pinned to the threaded end of the bolt whereby to rotate said locking bar relatively to said down-turned flange for locking and unlocking the latter bar therewith, the wings l2 of said wing nut extending in the same direction as the locking bar, and a jamb nut l3 interposed between said cover plate and wing nut for screwing downwardly upon said cover plate to compress the gasket into an air tight relation with the rim of the bowl after the bar has been manually rotated through the medium of the wing nut into a locking relation with the flange F as shown in .Fig. 1. i

flange and the apparatus can be removed from the toilet-bowl.

. In the position of the parts shown in Fig. 1, the jamb nut can be rotated clockwisely to clamp the locking bar against the flange F and thereby compress the gasket, and when the jamb nut is loosened, by reversing its rotation, the locking bar canbe rotated so as to coincide with the parts for connecting the toilet seal to the toilet long axis of the toilet seal wherein the device can be detached as aforesaid, the wings of the wing nut in each instance being utilized to denote the direction in which the locking bar extends in relation to the toilet seal.

When the device is in the operative position Shown in Fig, -1, by depressing the handle H and flushing the toilet tank the water flowing into the bowl will compress the air entrapped therein to augment the flushing action of the tank.

With regard to the new steps in the method of un-stopping a clogged sewer, the mouth of the toilet bowl is first air-tightly closed entrapping the air therein, and then the toilet tank is flushed to compress the air to augment the flushing action of the water. I i ,7

It will thus be seen from the. foregoing that an extremely simple device has beenicreated for providing new and useful resultsflnot heretofore contemplated, that the peculiar niode inwhich' the elements are assembled .p'novidenew and use! ful results for indicating the direction in which the locking bar extends at rall times, and that through the new use to which the device is put new and unobvious results are achieved in the manner in which the device coacts with the flushingoperation of the tank to move obstacles temporarily clogging a drain.

We claim:

In a removable closure for sealing the top opening of a water flushed closet bowl to provide an air tight chamber for pressure flushing of the discharge from the bowl, said bowl having :means at the edge of its top opening adapted forengagement with a clamping member, a rigid plate shaped to fit on the top of the bowl and @to completely cover the top opening thereof, :re-

silient sealing means on the underside of said r so as to bear against. the plate for releasably holdingthe bar in closure clamping position for .Qclamping the plate on and releasing the plate from the bowl, the clamping position compressing part of 'the resilient means between the margin of the plate andthe top edge of the bowl, and a winged member .fixed on the upper part of the stem operative for turning the stem and clamp- .ing bar to clamping and releasing positions, to

hold the stem during tightening of the nut, and toindicate the position of the clamping bar under the plate.

I HARRY U. BATES.

JOHN T. PERKINS.

REFERENCES CITED The following-references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 706,869 Woodruff Aug. 12, 1902 733,787 Woodrufli a July 14, 1903

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