Patent GB-190404730-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in Apparatus relating to the Purification of Sewage and Polluted Water and the like.
Inventor: GRAY ARTHUR
Filed: 1904-02-26
Granted: 1905-02-25
Abstract: 4730. Gray, A. Feb. 26. Sewage, treating; tanks for; filtering.-Relates to various forms of flushing-apparatus used in treating sewage or polluted water, and to a rotary distributer for supplying sewage &c. to filter-beds. Fig. 2 shows an automatic flush valve. The end of the outlet 2 of the tank or filter 1 is surrounded by a sleeve 4 dipping into a mercury seal formed in a groove around the outlet. The sleeve is attached at its upper end to one arm of a lever 9 rocking on a standard 11. A float 14 containing a water seal formed by a cup 15 and a tube 16 is attached to the other arm. The sleeve is held down by the float as the tank is filled, but, when the seal is forced, the weight of the float raises the sleeve and opens the outlet. An annular vessel 7, always full of water, surrounds the sleeve 4 and acts as a counterweight to close the valve when the tank is empty. The mercury seal may be replaced by a rubber ring seated on a faced surface of the outlet, and a balance float attached by a chain to the lever may be used instead of the vessel 7. When several of the valves are to work simultaneously, the sleeves are each attached to the horizontal arm of an L-shaped lever, the other arms of the levers being pulled by a common cord actuated by an arrangement similar to that used for the single valve. Or the actuating-floats of all the valves may be connected by an air pipe, only one of the floats having a water seal. When several valves are to work in sequence, the water seal of any particular float may be weakened by connectiug the float to an air dome placed in the preceding tank or filter. Fig. 3 shows an automatic siphon for flushing and similar purposes. It consists of a U-pipe 18, the long arm of which rises up through the floor of the tank and is covered by a dome 20. A pipe 23 passes through the centre of the dome, its lower end being surrounded by a cylindrical vessel 24 so as to form a liquid seal. As the tank fills, the tube 23 is held down by a float 27 similar to that used with the apparatus described above. When the seal of the float is forced, the tube 23 is lifted, the air is released from the dome 20, and the tank is discharged. An airtight joint is made between the pipe and the dome by surrounding the aperture with a trough of mercury into which dips a cylindrical vessel 21. Several of these siphons may be arranged to work simultaneously or in sequence by the same means as is used for the'valves. A timed-discharge siphon consists of an S-pipe or of a U-pipe covered by a dome, one modification in which an S-pipe is used being shown in Fig. 6. A reservoir 39 is connected with an S-tube 33 by an auxiliary trap 35 fitted with su tion valve 36, and is thus filled with water by the discharge through the siphon. When the flush tank is filled to the required height, water overflows into a tank 45, and raises a ball float 42 so as to open the valve 41 at the bottom of a ventilating-pipe 39. This admits the water from the reservoir 38 through the pipe 40 into the pipe 39, whence it is discharged through a pipe into the outlet of the S-pipe trap. This discharge is regulated by means of the tap 48 so as to time the siphon discharge from the flush tank. The latter takes place when the air-trap of the S-pipe is sufficiently weakened by the withdrawal of air through the trap 35. A siphon 46 is provided to empty the tank 45 as the flush tank is emptied, and the S-pipe is fitted with a pressure pipe 34. In the form of this apparatus described in the Provisional Specification, the reservoir 38 and S-pipe 33 are connected by an auxiliary siphon and an air pipe. When the liquid rises in the flush tank and thus increases the air pressure in the S-pipe and the reservoir, liquid is discharged from the latter to the S-pipe through the auxiliary siphon, the rate of discharge being regulated by means of a tap in the siphon so as to time the flush. A rotary distributer worked on the principle of the Barker's Mill is shown in Fig. 1. The revolving pipes k are fixed to a cylinder i, supported by a taper piece f from a bearing e working in an oil bath at the top of the hollow column b. The liquid enters the column b through the pipe a, passes through apertures c into an annular pipe g, and falls over the lip h into the cylinder i. A cover P protects the bearing e by means of which any necessary adjustment is made. Bronze or rust-proof metal bearings m are provided at the base of the column b, or a roller bearing and gun-metal runners on a faced surface may be used. Fig. 4 shows another arrangement of the bearings. A suitable shaft, supporting the revolving parts, rotates in a pipe bolted to the column b, ball bearings being provided at the top and bottom of the shaft, An adjustable sleeve, Fig. 5, may be hung above the lip h, so as to regulate the supply to the perforations when the supply through the pipe a is variable. When the supply fluctuates greatly, additional perforated arms are provided to take the maximum flow, and are supplied by means of a suitable siphon arrangement which discharges into the arms if the liquid attains a certain high level in the cylinder.