US352157A - Dry closet - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

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No. 352,157. I

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DRY CLOSET. v Pate 11ted-Nov. 9, 1886.

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I. D. SMEAD.

DRY CLOSET.

Patented Nov. 9,1886.

v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ISAAC DJSMEA'D, on TOLEDO, OHIO.

DRY CLOSET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 352,157, dated November 9, 1886.

I Application filed April 23, 1886. Serial No. 199,951. (No model.) 7

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ISAAC D. SMEAD, of Toledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful 10 sists, primarily, in constructing the vault and the hoppers or seats and their supports of fire-proof materials, and in such manner that the desiccated deposits can be burned without removal from the vault, and without endangering the building; and, second, it consists in providing means by'which the air that passes through the vault can be drawn direct from the outside of the building or from within the building, as may be preferred, all as hereinafter'more fully set forth.

Figures 1 and 2 are transverse vertical sections of a portion of a building,showing my improvements applied thereto; and Figs. 3 ande' are transverse vertical sections of my 2 5 improved hopper in position in relation to the.

vault, and Fig. 5 a perspective viewof the hopper and supporting-plate shown detached.

As described in my Patent No. 314,884., the air was drawn from the various rooms within 0 the building into and through the vault, for

the purpose of desicoating or drying .up' the fecal deposits, which were then to be removed.

from time to time, as occasion might require. I have found by experiment that this removal 5 is unnecessary, and that a'better plan is to burn these deposits where they lie in the vault,

and toaccomplish this result, or to enable it to be done without danger of setting fire to the building, I make the vault and the hop- 40 pers, with their support, fire-proof.

In the drawings, Figs. 1 and 2, I represents the exhaust shaft or flue, which should extend through or above the roofof the building, as is usual, and D represents the vault of the 4,5 dry-closet, having a large opening connecting it with the exhaust at one end, and its opposite end with the foul-air room A, into which the air is drawn from all the rooms in the building, the same as in my former patent.

E is located directly over the vault, but instead of the wooden floor and seats before used I cover the vault D with a series of iron plates, 0, fitted together so as to be air-tight, and serve as a floor or support for the hoppers J, which are securely bolted thereto, as shown in Fig. 1, each plate 0 being of course provided with a suitable opening at the point where the hopper is to be set, this being shown more clearly in Fig. 3. Ialso provide acast-iron hopper, J, with a flange or cars at its base for securing it to the plate 0, and near its upper end with a flange, f, upon which is secured a wooden seat,-g, as shown in Figs. 3 and 91. On

upon which a projection, 0, of the cover G rests when the cover is raised, the parts i and 0 thus serving as a stop to hold the cover from falling' over back when raised. The cover G is made in the general form shown in Figs. 3 and 4, and is provided with a depending flange, l, which projects down into the top of the hopper past the edge of the wooden seat 9, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, so that the whole'interior surface exposed shall be of metal only. At its front side the cover G is provided with a handle, h, by which it can be readily opened and closed, this handle preferably being formed of two vertical lugs or cars, with a cross-bar from one to the other, the handles thus being rigid and not liable to make a noise by falling over on the cover. From the rear of the cover project two arms, 2, on the rear ends of which are formed the projections 0, before mentioned, which act as stops, the arms t serving also to form part of the hinge joint i. It is obvious that the flange f may be dipensed with, if the seat be made to rest on the top of the hopper, as shown, two or three screws being used to hold it in place instead; but I prefer to use the flange or.1ugs, as it forms a more substantial structure. The closet-room is provided with a series of these hoppers, J, arranged as shown in Fig. 1, they being secured to the metal plates 50 As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the closet-room a, which, as shown in Fig. 3, rest at each side too upon the side walls, T T, of the vault D, the series of metal plates 0 thus constituting the floor of the closetroom, and with the metal hoppers J forming a fire-proof cover to the vault D, and as the walls T are of brick or stone it will be seen that there is nothing about them liable to burn. a

As the deposits in the vault D become thoroughly desiccated or dried in a short time, instead of removing them as heretofore, it is only necessary to set fire to them as they lie in the vault, when they will all be consumed in a brief period, the smoke and fumes passing off up the shaft I, as indicated in Fig. 1.

Instead of using the metal plates 0, the top of the vault may be arched of brick or stone, as shown in Fig. 4, and accomplish the same result. In this case a floor, m, may be laid over it, either of wood, cement, or stone, as may be preferred, and, if desired, a wooden floor may be laid over the metal plates 0,- but it is preferred not to use wood at all, the surface of the metal plates being ribbed or otherwise roughened to prevent slipping.

One of the hoppers and its supporting-plate is shown detached and in perspective in Fig. 5, for the purpose of showing the same more fully.

In my former patent the air passing through the vault was drawn wholly from within the building; but I sometimes find it desirable, for various reasons, to so arrange as to take air direct from the outside of the building into and through the vault. To do this, it is only necessary to make an opening, 0, through the outer wall, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and provide the same with the ordinary screen or metal guards, to prevent the entrance of persons or animals. This is more especially desirable in the warm or summer season,-and to insure the necessary draft in the shaft I at such times, I locate in the base of the shaft a small heating-furnace H, as shown in Fig. 1, so that by keeping a fire in the same a strong current up the shaft is created, thus causing a large volume of air to enter through the opening O and pass through the vault D, and thence up the shaft I. For convenience, the mouth or doors of the furnace H are arranged to project through the wall of the shaft 1, so as to be accessible from the adjoining room for supplying it with fuel and removing ashes. Any other kind of heater may be used instead, wherever convenient or available.

In Fig. 2 I have shown a rotary fan, N, arranged at the opening from the vault D into the shaft I, with an engine, I, for driving the same, which may be used, when desired, for creating a draft.

By providing the foul-air room A. with doors b, which can be closed at will, as shown in Fig. 1, so as to cutoff communication with the rooms above, and opening the door a, the air can be taken entirely from the outside. By closing the door a and opening the doors I) the air can be taken entirely from within the build ing, and by this arrangement it will be seen that the air may be taken from the inside or outside at pleasure, and be changed whenever desired.

One great advantage of burning the deposits in the vault is that it destroys all germs of every kind, and cleans out and purifies the vault most effectually.

It will readily be understood that the strong draft up the flue or shaft I will prevent the flame or smoke from passing up the hoppers J to any considerable extent, the tendency being rather for air to be drawn down through them, and that so long as the vault proper is fire-proof the burning of the deposits in the vault can be carried on with safety and without any liability of the smoke or fumes entering the rooms. The doors a and b will preferably be made of metal also.

I am aware that it has been proposed to place a metal box with a grate attached in the ordinary privy, as shown in Patent No. 264,568,and also that apatent has been granted for a commode having a lamp arranged therein for the purpose of drying and deodorizing the contents thereof; but these devices arcinapplicable in the manner in which my invention is designed to be used, and I make no claim to the devices or construction shown in said patents or either of them; but

What I do claim as my invention is- 1. The combination,in a building,of a foulair-gathering-room, A, provided with a door or doors, I), for cutting off communication with the rooms of the] building, the vault D, connected to the ventilating-shaft I, and the direct air-inlet 0, provided with a door, a,

said parts being arranged to operate substantially as described, whereby the air for supplying the current through the vault can be taken from within or without the building at pleasure.

2. The combination,in a building,of a vault, D, for a dry closet, an air-inlet, G, at one end for the admission of air from the exterior of the building, an exhaust or ventilating shaft connected to the vault at its opposite end, and a fan, N, or equivalent means for creating a draft through the vault and shaft when the building is not heated, substantially as set forth.

3. In combination, the vault D, having an air-inlet, C, at one end for the admission of air from the exterior of the building, an exhaust or ventilating shaft, I, connected to the vault at its opposite end, and a furnace or heater, H, located within the shaft and having its doors arranged to be accessible from the exterior of the shaft,substantially as shown and described.

4. The vault D for a dry eloset,covered with the metallic plates 0, or equivalent fire-proof material, in combination with the metallic hopper J, having a wooden seat secured there- I to and provided with the metallic cover G, ranged to fit within the mouth of the hophaving a flange, l, arranged-to fit within the per, substantially as and for the purpose set mouth of the hopper, substantially as and for forth. the purpose set forth.

' 5 5. The hopper J, having the wooden seat 9 Witnesses:

secured thereto, in combination-with the me- J. A. SMEAD, tallic cover G, provided with the flange Z, ar- PRICE MCKINNEY.

ISAAC D. SMEAD.

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