Improvements in and connected with Apparatus for Removing Subaqueous Deposits from Settling Tanks.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Oct., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 20th Aug.. 1895-Accepted, 19th Oct., 1895
Date of Application, 20th Oct., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 20th Aug.. 1895-Accepted, 19th Oct., 1895
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and connected with Apparatus for Removing
Subaqueous Deposits from Settling Tanks.
I. JOSEPH CORBETT, Borough Engineer, of Salford, in the County of
Lancashire, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
:-
My invention has for its object to provide apparatus for the efficient removal
and discharge of subaqueous deposits precipitated to the floors or adhering to the
sides of settling tanks and means for manipulating the same, and my invention is
specially applicable to sludge precipitated in sewage settling tanks. The discharge
may be effected through the medium of my apparatus either by pumping,
syphonage, or gravitation.
""
According to my invention I employ for traversing the floors, side walls, and
other surfaces of any tank an open bell-mouthed funnel or collector of suitable
form. It is made of metal plates and is mounted on wheels or rollers and adapted
by a rearwardly disposed "squee-gce or the like to make sufficiently good contact
with the surfaces. The collector is connected by a flexible metallic or pliable
rising pipe to a receiver which may be open at the top to facilitate inspection of
the operation. From the receiver a discharge pipe leads to the pump suction, or
to a lower level, and this pipe is or may be buoyed to the proper level by floats.
The receiver is supported in and by a pontoon, raft, or boat adapted for traversing,
lifting, or otherwise working the apparatus as required, and as hereinafter set
forth. The sludge collector is connected by ropes or chains passing over pulleys
to suitable lifting and lowering gear mounted upon said floating pontoon or
equivalent for raising, lowering, or otherwise adjusting and fixing its position to
suit varying depths, obstructions, and other conditions. A balance weight and
chain may also be provided for this adjustment. The apparatus is to be transferred
bodily from tank to tank as required by sheer legs, cranes, or other convenient
lifting gear. Such apparatus may be moved about the tank by towing or in
convenient manner, but I find it best to use in connection with it for the purpose
a special traversing arrangement adapted to give two motions at right angles to
one another whereby the apparatus may be moved longitudinally or transversely of
the tank at will. This arrangement consists of side or end ropes permanently fixed.
at their ends to standards of suitable height and a pair of travellers comprising a
frame with grooved pulleys adapted to run on said ropes. One set of ropes runs
direct from post to post at each side or end of the tank, the other set is deflected
by the guide pulleys of the travellers and caused to cross the tank. These second
ropes pass over bearing and guide pulleys on the pontoon whereon they are gripped
by grip pulleys mounted on a frame carried on the pontoon and adapted for rotary
motion around a central pivot. The grip pulleys are geared to a winch shaft, and
one is provided with a reversing gear whereby according to its adjustment motion
of the winch gear will cause the pontoon to be travelled either longitudinally or
transversely, and it may at the same time also be turned about or locked in any
direction in reference to the said traversing ropes. By the use of these two or
compound movements and by turning the pontoon in different directions the
collector can be placed as required, and the whole floor area and wall surfaces of

page_text: the tank can be completely traversed and all sludge and deposit removed therefrom
and discharged.
Dated this 20th day of October 1994
J. C. CHAPMAN, C.P.A.,
Agent.
Improvements in and connected with Apparatus for Removing
Subaqueous Deposits from Settling Tanks.
I, JOSEPH CORBETT, Borough Engineer, of Salford, in the County of
Lancashire, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
My invention has for its object to provide apparatus for the efficient removal
and discharge of subaqueous deposits precipitated to the floors or adhering to the
sides of settling tanks and means for manipulating the same; and my invention is
specially applicable to sludge precipitated in sewage settling tanks. The discharge
may be effected through the medium of my apparatus either by pumping,
syphonage, or gravitation.
I will fully describe my invention with reference to the accompanying drawings,
in which
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional elevation, and Fig. 2 a cross-sectional elevation
on liue - thereof, showing the preferred construction and arrangement of
pontoon and sludge removing scoop and flow pipes, also means for adjusting the
scoop and working the pontoon;
Figs. 2 and 2 are respectively sections on lines y-y, and x-x of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is a plan of the pontoon ;
Fig. 4 a plan of an arrangement of rope travelling gear;
Fi
Tigs. 44, 4B are side elevations of travellers and pulleys shown in Figs. 1 and 2;
Fig. 5 is a plan of the scoop; and
Fig. 6 is a plan of an alternative design of scoop.
Similar letters refer to similar parts in all the figures.
According to my invention I employ for traversing the floors, side walls, and
other surfaces of any sludge tank, an open bell-mouthed funnel or sludge-collecting
funnel hereinafter called the "scoop" S. It consists of an iron frame, such as
is shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 5, plated over and mounted on wheels, rollers or skates
in any convenient manner. In Fig. 5 four wheels are shown, and in the alternative
construction, Fig. 6, three wheels are used. The front edge is formed of an oak
or wooden bars shaped as shown, and at the rear sides a rubber squeegee s¹ is
fixed extending right across and adapted when the wheels of the scoop are all on
the level to make a good and fairly watertight or sucking contact with the floor
or surface travelled over. The scoop S is provided at its upper part with a
flanged hose coupling secured to the plating and adapted to receive an ordinary
flexible metallic or pliable uptake hose-pipe B which leads to a receiver R
carried by the pontoon P. This receiver is preferably of the shape illustrated
in Fig. 1, and may be open at its upper part as shown to facilitate inspection,
or it may be closed if desired. From the receiver a pliable discharge pipe B¹ leads
either to a pump suction, or to a discharge orifice at a lower level than that of
the liquid in reservoir, in which case the whole operation is performed by gravity,
i.e., the head of liquid in the tank. The discharge pipe B¹ may be buoyed up and
supported as or if required by floats in the common way such as illustrated or in
any convenient manner. The said receiver R is supported by a chain or otherwise
in a well R' in the floating raft, boat or poutoon P. This may be of the form and

page_text: construction shown in the drawings, and provided with a suitable hand rail, and
generally adapted, as hereinafter described, for traversing, lifting or otherwise
directing and working the scoop, and for being moved about as required. The
scoop S is connected at either side by a pair of wire ropes or chains r, r, as shown,
passing over end pulleys p¹, p¹, slung or mounted in bearings p³ secured to the deck
to suitable lifting and lowering gear arranged upon the pontoon or equivalent for
adjusting and fixing its position to suit varying depths, obstructions, and, other
conditions of tanks. The scoop ropes r¹, 2, are wound around and fixed to double
pulleys p, p, Fig. 3, (to which suitable locking clutches of suitable kind such as
at p, p, may be applied,) mounted upon a transverse shaft p³ carried in bearings p.
fixed to the deck. About the centre of the shaft p is mounted a pulley p having
attached to it one end of the wound rope r, and to the other end of this rope is
applied the balance weight W working in a well w in the pontoon as illustrated.
To lock this gear in any desired position, a sprocket wheel L, Figs. 2 and 3, is keyed
to shaft p, and upon a shaft t fitted in a standard T fixed upon the deck is keyed
& pinion, the two chain wheels being connected by an endless chain L, Fig. 1,
and a locking eye with hand lever 1, Fig. 3, is provided to lock the pinion. Thus
the scoop can be readily adjusted and locked in any desired position.
The above described apparatus is to be transferred bodily from tank to tank as
required by sheer legs, cranes, or other convenient lifting tackle, or through sluices
or locks between adjacent tanks, and it may be moved about the tank by towing or
in any convenient manner, but I find it best to use in connection with it for the
purpose a special traversing arrangement adapted to give two motions at right
angles to one another, whereby the apparatus may be moved longitudinally or
transversely of the tank at will.
This is illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, and 4, and consists of the following arrangement
of ropes, travellers and gear. M, M¹ aro a pair of galvanised steel wire ropes,
permanently stretched and fixed across either end or side of any tank between
permanent standards of suitable height, and upon these ropes run the outer pair of
grooved wheels g', g, of the traveller Q. N1, N2 are a pair of wire ropes, each
also permanently fixed at the one end to a similar standard firmly set and fixed at
one corner of the tank, but deflected around the inner grooved wheels 93, 9 of each
traveller Q, Q, so as to cross the tank, and led and fixed at the other end to a
standard fixed at the opposite corner of the tank, and setting up couplings or
equivalent means of adjusting length are or may be applied. The travellers are
constructed as illustrated and consist of a strong frame Q carrying the grooved
wheels which are arranged as shown in Figs. 4, 44 and 4B.
These ropes N1 N2 pass over bearing and guide pulleys U Us the shafts of which
are mounted in the ends of an upper gear frame T which is carried upon the
support T fixed on the pontoon, the connection being by a vertical pivot T upon
which the upper frame T' can be turned about and locked at any desired angle
with the pontoon by means of the locking pius T3 T3 passing through holes suitably
disposed in both parts T T. A central shaft V₁ in the frame T carries two rope
grip V-pulleys VV fixed to two spur wheels with which gear a long driving
pinion the shaft of which is carried in frame T¹ and has an operating handle or
handles v. A similar reversing pinion of same pitch is also arranged to gear
with the spur wheels and pinion v', the pinion teeth being formed as best shown
in Fig. 2B so as to admit of the required motions of the spur wheels v r. A sliding
reversing gear shaft is connected by a plate to the pinions v' and v³ in such
manner that the whole can be slidden to and fro as one group, and the gearing is
controlled by the position in which the group is set.
Therein it is fixed by a pin v
passing through one of two holes in the shaft and a hole in the frame Ti (see
Fig. 2). Therefore by adjusting this shaft V to forward or reverse gear the two
grip V-wheels can be run in the same directions or in opposite directions, and by
this means, after raising the scoop S, the pontoon can be turned about and locked
in any required direction in relation to the said traversing ropes N' Nº.
By the use of these two or compound movements afforded by the arrangement
1

page_text: specified, and by turning and maneuvring the pontoon in different directions, the
sludge collector S can be directed and placed just as and where required, and the
whole floor area and wall surfaces of the tank can be reached and completely
traversed, and all sludge and deposits removed therefrom and discharged through
the pipe B¹ to where required.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. The arrangement of apparatus for removing subaqueous deposits from settling
tanks consisting of a floating pontoon carrying an adjustable receiver R connected
by pliable pipes to a travelling sludge collecting scoop constructed as specified, the
said apparatus receiving motion from ropes and traversing gear so that the sludge
collector can be lifted or turned about in any direction and thereby act upon any
part of the tank floor or walls, substantially as hereinbefore described.
2. The apparatus for removing sludge consisting of the combination of floating
pontoon and travelling scoop adjustably connected thereto and to discharge, and
means for adjusting the various parts, the whole arranged or adapted to operate
substantially as described.
3. The use in connection with the apparatus above referred to, of the improved
arrangement of traversing ropes and hand gear upon the pontoon for working the
apparatus, whereby it can be travelled in directions at right angles to one another,
all substantially as described and illustrated in the drawings.
4. The construction of floating pontoon with adjustable receiver for pliable flow
and discharge pipes, and gear for adjusting the sludge collector, substantially as
described and illustrated in the drawings.
5. The construction of sludge collecting scoop with wheels or sledge runners, a
rear squeegee, and hose coupling, substantially as specified and illustrated in the
drawinge
Dated this 20th day of August 1895.
For the Applicant,
J. C. CHAPMAN,
70, Chancery Lane, London, W.C., Chartered Patent Agent.