Improvements in Apparatus for Feeding or Supplying Precipitating, Deodorising, or Purifying Materials or Chemicals in the Treatment of Sewage or other Foul Liquids, and for other analogous purposes.
Year: 1891

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Jan., 1891-Accepted, 28th Feb., 1891
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Feeding or Supplying Precipitating,
Deodorising, or Purifying Materials or Chemicals in the Treatment
of Sewage or other Foul Liquids, and for other analogous
purposes.
I, JOHN EDWIN KEIRBY, of Worsley Road, Swinton, near Manchester,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my said invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement :-
In the treatment of sewage or other foul liquids the precipitating deodorising or
purifying materials employed require to be supplied continuously at the same rate
of feeding and to be capable of adjustment in quantity to the greatest nicety.
The object of this invention is to meet these requirements and to provide a feeding
apparatus for the purpose which once set can be relied upon to go on feeding at
precisely the same rate and without further personal attention until the hopper is
exhausted.
On the accompanying drawing Fig. 1 is a front sectional view of my improved
feeding apparatus shewn applied to that class of mixing machine used in sewage
works for introducing chemical material in a dry or powdered state into the sewage
or other foul liquids undergoing treatment and Fig. 2 is a sectional plan of Fig. 1.
I employ a truncated or conical hopper a constructed of cast or sheet metal into
which the material to be fed is supplied in bulk. This hopper is mounted on the
top of the ordinary mixing machine 6 and into which it constantly discharges its
contents as illustrated through the shoot 1. The central shaft c of the latter which
is furnished with the usual stirring blades c' for keeping the mixture agitated passes
upwards through the hopper and is therein provided with a long (by preference)
conical boss d. The largest diameter of this boss when in its lowest position rests
in touching contact with the tapering walls of the hopper which slope in the
opposite direction to that of the cone d so practically forming a valve surface
therewith for closing the communication between the hopper a and the mixing
vessel b. In order however to raise this valve d and to regulate its degree of
opening and thus allow the material to fall from the hopper into the mixer below
with facility of adjustment as hereinafter described I arrange the conical boss with
a long sleeve d¹ which is grooved internally to slide upon a fixed key running
lengthways along the central shaft c and thus although compelled to revolve
together the boss is capable of an independent vertical motion along the said
shaft.
This sleeve d¹ is connected at its lower extremity and beneath the shoot b' to the
shorter arm of a lever e the other arm of which passes through the side of the
hopper to the outside and is there provided with a rod screwing through the boss of
an operating handle f. This handle is also furnished with an index finger and with
a fixed dial plate g (see plan view Fig. 3) to facilitate the adjustment of the opening
of the valve to the desired nicety.
In this manner it will be observed I not only secure an annular passage for the
chemical material one edge of which is constantly moving (revolving as it does
with the central shaft) but the coned surface of the boss d itself extending upwards
through the material and being also a revolving surface tends to stir or agitate the
contents of the hopper sufficiently to ensure its constantly falling towards the
annular outlet the falling action being materially assisted by the inverted conical
form of the surrounding walls of the hopper and whereby I secure the desired
agitation of the particles and the consequent certainty of action.
As a further security and in the case of large hoppers I sometimes provide an

page_text: additional conical boss upon the same central shaft as indicated by letter i and thus
I extend the coned moving surface throughout the entire length of the hopper.
Although shewn of a conical form it will be apparent that the bosses might also
assume a cylindrical form with similar effect.
I have not attempted to describe the mixing machine which forms no part of my
invention-suffice it to say that its central shaft c is constantly revolving being
driven by any convenient motor and that the supply of sewage or other foul liquid
enters by the inlet pipe ; and passes off through the outlet pipe k.
Although only illustrated and described in connection with sewage treatment and
in conjunction with a mixing machine it will be apparent that my improved hopper
feeding apparatus fitted with a centrally revolving shaft carrying a boss with facility
of adjustment as aforesaid is equally applicable to feeding other materials where a
constant reliable and adjustable supply is a desideratum.
Having thus 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 :-
In apparatus for feeding or supplying precipitating deodorising or purifying
materials or chemicals in the treatment of sewage or other foul liquids and for other
analogous purposes the employment of a conical hopper in combination with a
central shaft carrying a coned boss or its equivalent capable of sliding lengthways
thereon all mounted and operating substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore
described and illustrated on the accompanying drawing.
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1001
JOHN G. WILSON,
Patent Office, 55, Market Street, Manchester, Agent for the Applicant.