US1270211A - Toilet for railway-cars. - Google Patents

Description

P. F. REILLY.

TOILET FOR RAILWAY CARS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 11, :91].

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

INVENTOR, PFRaZZy BY 4% W A-r-rannzv Patented J une 18, 1918.

J 4 J L 2 H 1 w M P. F. REILLY.

mm FOR RAILWAY CARS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. I7. 19!].

1,270,21 1 Patented June 18, 1918.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

INVENTOR Ar'ronnav WITNESSES 'o'nrrun srnrns PATENT orrron.

PETER F. REILLY, OF BRIARCLIFF MANOR, NEW YORK.

TOILET FOR RAILWAY-CARS.

Application filed February 17, 1917.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, PETER F. REILLY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Briarcliff Manor, in the county of WVestchester and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Toilets for RailwayCars, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to closets, and more especially to those known as dry closets although provision is made herein for pmnp ing a disinfectant in the bowl and of course this disinfectant might be liquid.

The toilet or dry closet constituting the subject of the present invention is intended more particularly for use on railway cars and the like, where the bowl is set over and delivers through an opening in the floor of the car and means are desirable for preventing a blast of air from blowing inward through said opening whether the closet is in use or not. The purpose of the present invention is to improve closets or toilets of this character in many details, and for a more particular description thereof reference is made to the accompanying specification and claims and to the drawings where- 1n;-

Figure l is a plan view of this device ready for use, part of the platform being broken away.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 with the upper doors open and the lower doors closed.

Fig. 3 is a central vertical longitudinal section taken on about the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the lever mechanism and rock shafts above the floor line, and

Fig. 5 a sectional detail on about the line 5-5 of Fig. 1 showing the levers and their connection with the platform and rock shafts.

' Fig. 6 is a sectional detail ofthe lower doors, showing how the inner edge of one acts as a scraper for the other as they are opened, and for this purpose the doors are shown in full lined position and in dotted lined positions.

Fig. 7 is a detail of one form of pump Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 18, 1918.

Serial No. 149,281.

mechanism which may be applied for injecting disinfectant into the bowl.

ig. 8 is an enlarged sectional detail of th?1 mechanism for latching the seat closed, an

Fig. 9 is a similar detail of the same taken at right angles to the section of Fig. 8.

While I have suggested that this closet is intended more particularly for use on railway cars and the like, I do not wish to be limited in that respect. it is in effect a dry closet for use wherever it may be desirable to supply the public with a toilet of this character for general use, and as it is well known that the general public does not give so much care to a closet as the owner or tenant of a house in which one is situated, provision is made to keep the same sanitary as far as possible with dry closets, and provision is made also whereby the apparatus may be provided with means for disinfecting the bowl every time it is used. Toilets of this kind are, however, usually erected in out buildings or in a lean-to if they constitute part of a dwelling, and in that case as always when they are built into railway ears there are certain conditions to be met. lVhether there is a subjoined receptacle or not, the bowl registers with an opening in the floor line and if it remains open there is of course admitted a strong draft of air unless the seat be carefully kept closed, which 'is impossible when the toilet is open to the general public. Also the device will at times be used as a urinal, and careless persons are always with us who would neglect to flush the bowl or apply the disinfectant. It is one purpose of the present invention to meet these conditions by a mechanical construction which will eliminate them as far as possible without involving too great expense.

Coming now to the details of the invention, the numeral 1 designates the floor of a railway car or apartment, in which is cut a suitable opening, and mounted within said opening is a bowl 2 of any appropriate configuration, the same having an inner hopper 2' and a rigid top 3 provided with an opening 4 of considerable size. Rising rigidly from the back of the top is a member which constitutes the back of the seat, although this may be a wall. Hinged at 6 upon the top is the seat 7 having the usual opening opening 4 when the seat is depressed upon the top, and said seat is held normally raised by means of a spring 8 which may be independent of or part of the hinges as desired. The presence of the spring makes unnecessary any means for holding the seat raised but renders desirable some means for holding it when depressed and in use, and for this purpose I provide on its under side at its front a hook or catch 9 for use as described below. p

Hinged at 10 to the sides of the top 3 are two doors 11, each half the width ofsaid top so that their inner edges meet above it when they are closed down upon it, but the top and the doors are of such size that when the latter are open as seen in Fig. 1, they stand well beyond the side edges of the seat 7 so that it may be turned down between them for use. Each of said doors carries on its outer face an elongated loop 12 in which is slidably mountedthehooked end 13 of an arm 14 upstanding from the rear end of a rock shaft 15 which is mounted in suitable bearings 16 on the floor 1 and extends alongside the bowl 2 beneath or within a housing or casing 17 to a point somewhat forward of said bowl, its front end being provided with a crank 18 as best seen where the platform is broken away in Fig. 1. Referring now to Fig. 3, it will be seen that beneath said casing there is pivotally mounted a pair of rock levers20 whose outer ends are connected with said cranks at 19 and whose inner ends lap each other and are slotted as at 21, and when these inner ends are depressed both cranks 18 willbe raised so that the rock'shafts 15 will be turned in opposite directions in their bearings, their arms 14 be swung outward, and the doors 11 opened.-

Through said slots at the inner ends of the rock levers projects a pin'22 at one end ofa bracket 23' which is securedto the lower 7 face of a platform 24overlying the casing 17 and hinged at its front edge 25 thereto; anda coiled spring or springs 26 underlying the platform raise the latter normally on its hinges, so that the "normal position of said upper doors 11 is closed over thetop 3 with their meeting edges covering the opening 4 therein. When now a person steps on the platform, the depression ofthe latter through the mechanismdescribed will throw the doors open as will be clear. The numerals 31 and 31 designate lower doors which are hinged at 30 along their outer edges to the bottom of the floor 1 and stand in position to be swung over and'to close the openingthrou h suchfloor at the lower end of the bowl. Tivoted to an ear 32 so located that it registers with the on the lower side of each lower door near its hinge is one end of a link 33, the other end of the same being pivotally connected with a lever 34 which latter in turn is pivoted at 35 to the lower end of a hanger 36 depending rigidly from the floor 1. The lever 34 is slotted within its length as at 37, and slid ably engaging said slot is'ea hook38 at the lower end of an arm 39 which depends from the rock shaft 15 through a suitable slot in the floor. When now by the above action the rock shaft is turned in its bearings so as to move the upper arm and open the upper door, itslower' arm 39 swings the lever 34 on its pivot 35, and the link 33 closes the lower door 31. The latter, as will besee'n,

is preferably of a siie to fully cover the opening in the floor, whereas the opposite door 31 is by preference only a frame as seen in Fig. 6, but the configuration of these doors is such that when they are swung open the inner bar of said frame scrapes across the inner or upper face of the solid-door31 for a purpose of removing anything that may adhere thereto. The relative length of the two levers 34 and links 33 must be such as to cause the skeleton door 31 to close a little earlier than the solid door 31, and the latter to begin its opening movement a little in advance of the opening movement of the skeleton door. Also the solid door 31 may have to be curved slightly in its width as seen in this view, so that the scraping action may be successfully performed.

The latch for holding the seat 7 closed is perhaps best seen in Fig. 3. Connected with the rear or free end of the platform 24 at the point 40 is a link 41 which preferably eX tends downward through the fl'oor 1, and connected pivotally with the lower end of said link at the point 42 is a latch bar43 which extends upwardly through a channel 44 formed in the front wall of the bowl 2 and has a hooked upper end 49 which is eX- posed through an opening 48 in the top 3, a camor projection in said channel tending to throw the latch forward when theplatform is depressed and to throw it rearward when pressure on the platform is released and the latter is raised by its springer springs. Therefore when the userdepre'sses the seat 7 its catch 9 enters the hole48 in the top 3, and then when the user sits on the seat and takes his weightofi' the platform the seat remains latched closed until imlatche'd by a subsequent depression of the platform, when the seat fiies open underthe impulseof its spring 8. This is a detail which I consider desirable but notabsolutely necessary.

' It'w'ill'be seen that the hangers 36 and levers 34, as well asthe lower doors, are beneath'the floor where they may easily be disposedif it be the floor of "arena-await,

but if it be the floor or an out building isc proper provision must be made so that these elements can be located as shown.

While this device is a dry closet, it is quite possible to employ a liquid or other disinfectant mechanism in connection therewith. Secured beneath the floor 1 is a tank or reservoir 50 which may be filled from time to time by removing the cap from a filling orifice 51 which extends upward through the floor 1 as shown, and from this reservoir a pipe 52 leads to a pump and thence by way of another pipe 54; to a jet or nozzle 55 which projects through the side of the bowl 2 and is directed toward its interior. Detailed construction of the pump is not essential, but I consider it desirable to connect its plunger by means of a link or red 56 with the platform 24, and also I would ar range the valves in the plunger and pump in such a way that the rise of the platform after the operator steps off the same produces a pumping impulse and delivers a charge of the liquid through the jet or nozzle into the bowl. It is clear that said liquid may be a disinfectant, and it is quite possible that by making the parts larger and expanding the reservoir into a tank of considerable size or connecting it with the water system of the house, this feature of my invention might be employed to wash the bowl after each use of the toilet. This also is a feature which I consider desirable but not absolutely necessary. I would say, however, that when the toilet is used in public places such as railway cars, I do consider it quite desirable to spray the bowl after each use with disinfectant of some kind.

Thus is produced a closet adapted for the uses first set forth above. WVhen a passenger approaches and steps upon the platform, the upper doors are automatically opened and the lower doors automatically closed. Common sense will teach him to swing down the seat 7 if he desires to use it, and it becomes latched in the manner above described. But in any event, after use of the toilet when he steps off the platform, the springs beneath it cause the same to rise, and the rock levers operate the shafts 15 so that the upper doors are again closed and the lower doors are again opened, and in the opening movement of the latter the inner edge of one door scrapes across the inner face of the other as seen in Fig. 6. If the ump attachment is employed, the rise of the platform also at this time causes the automatic projection of a jet of liquid into the bowl, whether said liquid be a dis infectant or pure water, and therefore the toilet is ready for the next user. It will be clear that, whether the parts of the device stand idle or are in use, one pair of doors is always closed and therefore there can be no draft of air in either direction through the bowl. As this draft of air is usually upward and is quite objectionable on railway cars because it brings in dirt off the roadbed at all times and is unpleasant to a user, I consider the use of two pairs of doors especially advantageous when the invention is employed in this connection.

By preference I provide the seat 7 with a pair of spreaders, shown herein as consisting of rods 57 projecting outward from the edges of the seat near its hinges 6 and having rollers at their outer ends. The purpose of these spreaders is to prevent the cover sections 11 from closing when pressure is taken off the platform while using the closet, and the rollers stand in position to contact with the inner faces of the doors 11 near the hinges 10 of the latter.

What is claimed as new is 1. In a dry closet, the combination with an upright bowl whose lower end registers with a hole in the floor, a top overlying the upper end of said bowl and having an opening therein, an upper door hinged at its outer edge to said top and adapted to swing downward over the opening therein, and a lower door hinged at its outer edge beneath said floor and adapted when swung upward to close the opening therein; of a movable platform overlying the floor forward of said bowl, a rock shaft mounted in bearings on said floor and having a crank connected with such latform, and arms rising from and depeu ing from said rock shaft and connected with the upper and lower doors respectively whereby depression of the platform will rock the shaft and swing the upper door open and the lower door simulta neously closed, for the purpose set forth.

2. In a closet of the class described, the combination with an upright bowl, a top plate thereon having an opening, a seat hinged on a transverse line across the rear of said top and itself having an opening, and a spring for normally raising said seat; of a pair of doors hinged along their outer edges to the side edges of said top and adapted when open to permit the descent of said seat and when closed to contact at their inner edges, and means for swinging said doors.

3. In a closet of the class described, the combination with an upright bowl, a top plate thereon having an opening, a seat hinged on a transverse line across the rear of said top and itself having an opening, and a spring for normally raising said seat; of a pair of doors hinged along their outer edges to the side edges of said top and adapted when open to permit the descent of said seat and when closed to contact at their inner edges, a spring-raised platform forward of said how], connections between it and said doors whereby depression of the platform opens the doors, a catch on the seat, a latch at the front edge'of the bowl engaging said catch, and connections between the latch and platform for disengaging the former from said catch when the platform is depressed.

4.In a closet of the class described, the combination with an upright bowl, a top plate thereon having anopening, a seat hinged on a transverse line across the rear of said top and itself having an opening, and a spring. for normally raising said seat 5; of a pair of doors hinged along their outer edges to the side edges of said top and adapted when open to permit the descent of saidseat and when closed to contact at their inner edges, a hinged platform forward of said bowl, means for holding its free edge normally raised, connections be (tween saidedge and doors whereby depression of the former throws the latter open,

said bowl having an upright channel in its front side and sald top an opening registering with SEtlCl channel, a latch; movably mounted in said channel and having a hook standing within said opening, a hookshaped catch beneath the front. edge of said seat adapted to be engaged'by said latch, and connections between the latter and the V movable edge of said platformfor disengaging the latch from the catch when the platform is depressed.

5. In a dry closet, the combination with an upright bowl, and a pair of upper doors hinged along their outer edges and adapted to meet attheir inner edges when closed; of a pair of lower doors hinged alongtheir outer edges so that they overlap each other when'closed, and operatingimeans connecting said pairs of doors whereby one pair is 40 normally opened as the other is closedand the inner edgeof one lower door scrapes across the upper face of the opposite lower door as these doors are opened, for the purpose set forth. 7

6. In a dry closet, (the combination with an upright bowl, a top thereon having an opening registering with the bowl,- and a pair of doors hinged along their outer edges to the side "edges of said'top and adapted to meet at their inner edges when closed down on such top; of a floor supporting the bowl and having an opening registering therewith, a pair of lower doors hinged along their outer edges beneath said floor and each of a width to extend across said opens ing'so that they overlap each other when closed, and operating means connecting said pairs of doors whereby one pair is normally opened as the other is closed-and the inner edge of one lower door'scrapes across the upper face of the opposite lower door as these doors are opened, for the purpose set forth. s

V 7. In a dry closet, the co bination with a support, and a bowl mounted thereon; of

a pair of doors hinged along their outer edges to the support on opposite sidesof the bowl, one door being transversely curved, and operating mechanism for swinging said doors sothalt the curved door moves slightly in advance of the other door and the free edge of the latterscrapes across the upper face of the former in the act of opening, for the purpose set forth.

8. In a dry closet, the combination with a supporting floor having an opening, and r a bowl mounted on said floor and registering with the opening therein; of a pair of doors hinged along their outer edges to the bottom of said floor on opposite sides of its openin'g, one door being transversely curved and the other of skeleton formation, and oper ating mechanism for swinging said doors open so that the curved door moves slightly in advance of the skeleton door and the free edge ofthe latter scrapes across the upper face of the former in the act of opening, for the purpose set forth.

In test1mony whereof I afiix my signa ture. I

PETER r. REILLY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by'addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C.

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