Improvements in Apparatus for Flushing Closets, Drains, and the like with Waste Water.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application, 19th Sept., 1892
Complete Specification Left, 19th July, 1893-Accepted, 26th Aug., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Flushing Closets, Drains, and the like
with Waste Water.
I, THOMAS THORP, of Whitefield, near Manchester in the County of Lancaster,
Civil Engineer and Architect, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
When waste water has been employed hitherto for flushing water-closets, drains,
and the like, it has generally been allowed to run from only a slightly higher level,
because of difficulty of raising the waste water to a sufficient height to obtain the
head or pressure necessary for an effective wash-out flush. By my present invention
this difficulty is entirely overcome, and I am enabled to obtain a flush with waste
water under any desired and reasonable head.
For the purpose of my invention I employ a waste water reservoir, which may be
at the same time a trap through which the excess of waste water may escape to the
sewers or drains; a pumping or forcing device operated by the pressure of the
water service without consuming the water; and an accumulator which may be
variously constructed.
If the reservoir from which the waste water is drawn contains a trap, the opening
through which the water is drawn should be at such a distance from the bottom as
to enable the water seal to be preserved.
I prefer to arrange the pumping or forcing device alongside of the reservoir, and
to arrange them both underground, or in such a position that the contents of the
vessels will not be frozen in winter. The device may consist of a cylinder and piston,
or of water-tight bellows, or the like, in combination with a spring or weighted
lever or a dead weight so arranged as to tend to force the piston bellows or the like
in one direction. A suitable part of the water service pipe is choked or throttled,
and on the low pressure side of this part communication is opened through a
suitable pipe with the cylinder bellows or other pumping or forcing device. The
pressure of the water is arranged to force down the piston or expand the bellows or
the like against the pressure of the opposing spring or weight, so long as the
nearest tap on the low pressure side of the water service pipe is closed. So soon
however as this tap is opened, the pressure of water is greatly reduced, and the
spring or weight overcomes its resistance; thus moving the piston in the opposite
direction or collapsing the bellows or the like. The motion thus induced is
employed to draw the waste water from the reservoir and force it into the
accumulator. Back pressure valves will be employed on each side of the pumping
or forcing device to prevent the return of the waste water. It will be seen that
with this arrangement, only the pressure of the water in the service pipes is used
(none of the water itself being drawn off), for the pumping or forcing, and that the
action is entirely automatic.
The accumulator may consist of a syphon cistern arranged at a sufficiently high
level to give the required pressure, and which will, when full, syphon its contents
off. Or, it may consist of a weighted telescopic holder, the discharge valve of
which is opened by the movement of the holder as soon as it has reached a
determined height. Alternatively, an indiarubber bag may be employed if the
water is not greasy or soapy or otherwise detrimental to indiarubber. This bag is
distended by the waste water forced into it, and at a certain point of its distention,
it pushes open a valve, whereupon the elasticity of the rubber forces the waste-water
outwards under pressure.
The construction and arrangement of both the pumping or forcing device, and of

page_text: the accumulator, may be greatly varied, and I do not limit myself therefore to
those herein before described.
Dated this 17th dev of Sentember A.D. 1892.
WILLIAM E. HEYS,
Agent for the Applicant.
Improvements in Apparatus for Flushing Closets, Drains, and the like
with Waste Water.
THOMAS THORP of Whitefield near Manchester in the County of Lancaster,
Civil Engineer and Architect, 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 :-
When waste water has been employed bitherto for flushing water-closets drains
and the like, it has generally been allowed to run from only a slightly higher level,
because of the difficulty of raising the waste water to a sufficient height to obtain
the head or pressure necessary for an effective wash-out flush. By my present
invention this difficulty is entirely overcome, and I am enabled to obtain a flush
with waste water under any desired and reasonable head.
For the purpose of my invention I employ waste water reservoir which may be
at the same time a trap through which the excess of waste water may escape to
the sewers or drains; a pumping or forcing device operated by the pressure of the
water service without consuming the water; and an accumulator which may be
variously constructed.
If the reservoir from which the waste water is obtained contains a trap, the
opening through which the water is drawn should be at such a distance from the
bottom as to enable the water seal to be preserved.
I prefer to arrange the pumping or forcing device alongside the reservoir, and to
arrange them both underground or in such a position that the contents of the vessels
will not be frozen in winter. The device may consist of a cylinder and piston or
of water-tight bellows, or the like, in combination with a spring or weighted lever,
or a dead weight so arranged as to tend to force the piston bellows or the like in one
direction.
A suitable part of the water service pipe is or may be slightly choked or throttled
and on the outlet side of this part communication is opened through a suitable pipe
with the cylinder bellows or other pumping or forcing device. The pressure of
the water is arranged to force down the piston or expand the bellows or the like
against the pressure of the opposing spring or weight, so long as an adjacent tap of
the water service pipe is closed. So soon however as the tap is opened, the pressure
of water is reduced, and the spring or weight overcomes its resistance, thus moving
the piston in the opposite direction or collapsing the bellows or the like. The
motion thus induced is employed to draw the waste water from the reservoir and
force it into the accumulator. Back pressure valves may be employed on each side
of the pumping or forcing device to prevent the return of the waste water.
be seen that with this arrangement, only the pressure of the water in the service
pipes is used, (none of the water itself being drawn off) for the pumping or forcing,
and that the action is entirely automatic.
It will
The accumulator may consist of a syphon cistern arranged at a sufficiently high
level to give the required pressure, and which will, when full, syphon its contents
off. Or, it may consist of a weighted telescopic holder, the discharge valve of
which is opened by the movement of the holder as soon as it has reached a determined
height. Alternatively, an indiarubber bag may be employed if the water is not
greasy or soapy or otherwise detrimental to indiarubber. This bag is distended by
the waste water forced into it, and at a certain point of its distention, it pushes open

page_text: a valve, whereupon the elasticity of the rubber forces the waste water outwards
under pressure.
The construction and arrangement of both the pumping or forcing device and of
the accumulator may be greatly varied, and I do not limit myself therefore to those
herein described.
In order that my invention may be more clearly understood I have appended
drawings reference to which is hereinafter made and which illustrate convenient
methods of carrying the invention into effect.
Figure 1 represents one form of the apparatus in vertical section.
Figure 2 represents a similar section taken at right angles to Figure 1.
Figure 3 shews the apparatus partly in longitudinal section and partly in plan.
Figure 4 is a diagrammatic representation of a modified form of the apparatus.
Figures 5, 6, 7, and 8 illustrate modifications of the actuating mechanism.
As shewn by the drawings the improved apparatus consists essentially of a
pumping or forcing device A and a reservoir or accumulator B. The pumping
device may be variously constructed, the form illustrated in Figure 1 consisting of
a cylinder C containing a piston D which is forced in one direction by a compressed
helical spring E. The piston rod D' passes through the side of and into the
accumulator or reservoir B. One end of the cylinder C is connected to the water
service pipe F by a branch F¹ so that the pressure of the water is exerted upon the
piston D. When the adjacent tap G is in its closed position the water pressure
moves the piston D against the pressure of the spring E, this spring returning the
piston D when the water pressure is reduced consequent upon the opening of the
tap G. A reciprocal motion is thus imparted to the piston D and piston rod D¹
each time water is drawn and the tap G is opened and closed.
The end of the piston rod D' which protrudes into the reservoir B is either
formed with teeth or carries a rack D2 which gears with a pinion H loosely
mounted upon a shaft H¹. Secured to the pinion H is one half of a dog tooth
clutch J the other half of which is attached to the ratchet wheel J¹ and the scroll
or cam K. Within the reservoir or accumulator B is a piston L normally held in
its lowest position by a suitable spring M and furnished with a bracket or rod L'.
This bracket or rod is slotted for the passage of the shaft H' and carries a pin stud
or projection L2 which is engaged by the flange of the cam or scroll K.
The operation of the apparatus is as follows:-Each time the tap G is opened
the water pressure in the cylinder C is reduced and the piston D is moved outwards
by the spring E, and when the tap G is closed, the increased and accumulated water
pressure moves the piston in the opposite direction. A reciprocal motion is thus
imparted to the piston rod D' and the rack D2 and an intermittent and alternately
opposite rotation or partial rotation to the pinion H. The rotation of the pinion H
in one direction carries with it the ratchet wheel J and the cam or scroll K, the
backward movement of these latter however being prevented by the pawl J'
engaging with the ratchet wheel J. The two halves of the clutch J are kept in
driving engagement by the spring H2 or by other suitable similar means.
intermittent but progressive motion is thus imparted to the scroll or cam K in a
Waste water flows
direction opposite to that in which the hands of a clock move.
into the reservoir B through the pipe N which may if desired be provided with a
back pressure valve.
An
By the rotation of the cam K the piston L is raised until it occupies the position
indicated in Figures 1 and 2, when the further rotation of the cam will leave the
stud L and the piston L free to descend under the influence of the spring M.
The waste water contained under the piston L within the reservoir B is thus
forcibly expelled through the pipe O and may be led either directly to the closets
or sewers to effect their flushing or to a second reservoir at a sufficient height
whence the water may be drawn in the usual way. The outflow pipe O will be
trapped or returned to a height sufficient to prevent the outflow of water except
when the piston is released and forced down by the spring M.
In the modification illustrated diagrammatically by Figure 4, the expulsion of

page_text: the water from the reservoir B is effected directly by the fluctuations of the
pressure in the service pipe. In this case the pistous D and L are connected by
the rod D' and the movement of the piston D consequent upon the opening and
closing of the tap is communicated directly to the piston L, each movement
effecting the expulsion of a little of the water which fills the reservoir D. The
waste inlet pipe N is preferably provided with a flap valve, and is of considerably
smaller diameter than the outlet pipe O. It is preferred to conduct the expelled
water to a second reservoir placed at a sufficient and convenient height. A back
pressure valve may be arranged in the outlet pipe O.
Figures 5, 6, 7, and 8 illustrate modified forms of the actuating mechanism
indicated at A Figure 1. As shewn by Figure 5 and Figure 6 the cylinder C and
piston Dare replaced by a series of inter-communicating spring controlled flexible
bags or boxes P, which assume the position shewn in Figure 5 when the tap is
closed and the water pressure is greatest, and that shewn in Figure 6 when the tap
is opened and the pressure is reduced. One end of the series is fixed and communi-
cates with the service pipe, through the branch F; the other carries the rack D²
and effects the expulsion of the water as before described.
In the further modification illustrated by Figures 7 and 8 the series of flexible
spring bags or boxes is replaced by an extensible or telescopic bag or tube R
preferably constructed of indiarubber, its two ends R' R being drawn together by
the spring S. The branch connects the bag to the service pipe. The two
positions of the bag or tube before and after the opening of the tap are illustrated
respectively by Figures 7 and 8.
It is obvious that other equivalent methods of raising the piston L may be
substituted for that illustrated and hereinbefore described. For instance a suitable
arm may be loosely mounted upon the shaft H and he provided at one end with a
pawl engaging with a ratchet wheel secured to the shaft. The other end of the
arm is connected to the piston rod D' so that the reciprocations of the latter impart
an intermittent motion to the shaft. A second pawl is employed to prevent any
return motion of the shaft. Secured to the shaft is a pinion gearing with a rack
formed upon the piston rod of the piston L. At one part of the rack the teeth
have been cut away leaving a flat side. Once in each revolution of the pinion then,
it is disengaged from the rack and the latter is permitted to descend under the
influence of the spring M. The two end teeth of the rack are larger than the others
to ensure clearance between the rack and the flat side of the pinion during the
descent of the piston and to render certain the re-engagement of the rack when the
piston has reached the bottom of its stroke.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is―
1. In apparatus for flushing closets drains and the like, means for utilising the
variations of pressure in a water service pipe for the purpose of obtaining a wash-
out flush with waste water, constructed arranged and operating substantially as
hereinbefore described and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
2. In apparatus for flushing closets drains and the like with waste water, the
combination with a branch pipe communicating at one end with the water service
pipe adjacent to a tap, of a pumping or forcing device capable of being operated by
the variations of pressure in the pipe, substantially as herein before described and as
illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
3. In apparatus for flushing closets drains and the like with a wash-out flush of
waste water, the combination and arrangement with the water service pipe of a
branch connected thereto near a tap, a pumping or forcing device operated by
variations of pressure in the pipe, an accumulator and a flushing cistern into which
the waste water is forced by the pumping device, substantially as hereinbefore
described and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.
4. In apparatus for flushing closets drains and the like with a wash-out flush of

page_text: waste water, the combination and arrangement with a water service pipe of a
branch counected thereto near a tap, a pumping or forcing device operated by
variations of pressure in the pipe, and an accumulator into which the waste water is
received and from which it is periodically forced by the apparatus into the closet
or drain, substantially as herein before described and as illustrated by the accom-
panying drawings.
3L 101 1 of Tal. AD 1902
WILLIAM E. HEYS,
Agent for the Applicant.