Pumps Driven by Electric Motors.
Year: 1886

page_text: Pumps Driven by Electric Motors.
I HECTOR DE GROUSILLIERS of the town of Ludwigshafen in the Kingdom
of Bavaria and German Empire, Chemist, do hereby declare the nature of my
Invention for RAISING AND FORCING SEWAGE AND OTHER WATERS BY MEANS OF
PUMPS DRIVEN BY ELECTRIC MOTORS to be as follows:-
:-
My invention relates to raising and forcing sewage and other waters by means of
pumps driven by electric motors, the object of my said invention and the method
of carrying the same into effect being described in the following specification.
The systems hitherto employed for raising and forcing sewage and other waters
and fluids where based on the fluid being forced into a collective main canal or
sewer either by means of a natural fall or incline, by compressed air or steam
pressure and then led or forced along the same.
The first named system has many disadvantages and when the sewage of large
towns or the water from large towns is to be removed, and the more so when
natural hindrances have to be overcome and enormous sums are required for
securing the necessary fall for the automatic flow of the sewage or other water or
waters.
The second system is better but here the unevenness of the ground proves very
disadvantageous, a main pipe or canal must be laid for the compressed air or steam
and very often also long branch canals leading to the reservoirs from whence the
sewage or other fluid is forced into the main canal or sewer.
1. These said systems possess the disadvantage that the air or steam must be
compressed for the greatest lifting height it Leing immaterial whether this is
requisite for only one reservoir or more, whereas the others require perhaps only a
third of the power so that an enormous loss of power must ensue, and besides this
a great pressure is requisite for lifting or forcing the fluid mass to any considerable
height and gives rise to great inconveniences.
2. The mechanical arrangements and the main delivery pipe for the compressed
air or steam must correspond with the maximum power requisite but this is only
in reality necessary for a few hours during the day and this renders the outlay so
considerable.
3. The costs of the mechanical arrangements do not increase in arithmetical
proportion to its size but progressive. If for instance a town with 30,000
inhabitants requires a main pipe of 10 /m diameter for the supply of compressed

page_text: diameter
air or steam, a town of 120,000 inhabitants will require a pipe of 20% m
consequently the costs of each sewage district will be increased by the increased
cost of the larger service pipe.
4. It is very difficult if not impossible to correctly control deep laying pipes,
tubes or canals and to ascertain where a leakage or stoppage has taken place. If
for instance the service for the compressed air should become leaky it is not
possible to speedily find the leaky point and repair the damage, consequently it
must be apparent that this system possesses enormous disadvantages. It is quite a
different affair when my system of pumps provided with a suitable number of
accumulators and all operated from one main is employed and when the sewage
or other fluid out of the other districts is forced into one or more main delivery
pipes or canals.
My improved system possesses the following advantages:
1. The mode of supplying electric energy by means of overhead wires is very
cheap, can readily be branched off and readily controlled and more especially so as
each pumping system can be provided with a device for automatically signalling
the main station when one of the pumps should get out of order.
2. The mechanical arrangements need only be calculated for the mean or average
power required as the accumulators store up the surplus power and give out the
same when necessary and besides this each pumping system consumes only the
electrical force corresponding to the forcing power required.
3. In consequence of the readyness with which the transmission of electrical
energy can be branched off, the system can be readily accomodated to all kinds of
It is not
ground and all advantages offered by the same taken into account.
necessary with this system that all the pumps should force into one main as in
many cases the sewage or other fluid can be forced into pipes which have sufficient
fall to carry off the said sewage or other fluid without having recourse to
mechanical pressure.
It will be evident from the foregoing that the costs of providing towns with
sewage works or for canalising in general will be considerably reduced by
employing my said system. The practical execution is effected in the following
manner:
In the collecting shaft or reservoir of each district I arrange one or more
dynamo-machines for driving one or a series of pump for raising the sewage or
other fluid and and forcing the same into the delivery pipe or canal. As soon as
the sewage or other fluid in the collecting shaft or reservoir has reached a certain
level, a swimmer-valve will close the contact between the dynamo-machine and
the main station. The dynamo machine now commences to act sets the pumps or
pump in operation and pumps out the shaft pit or reservoir. The swimmer will
How sink and will in consequence of this said sinking break the contact and set the
dynamo, or dynamo machines out of operation until the said swimmer again rises
and closes the current. Should a dynamo become defective the sewage or other
fluid will rise and with it the swimmer until it reaches a signalling device by
means of which the main station is notified that the dynamo machine in question
is not in working order.

page_text: <
Pumps Driven by Electric Motors.
I HECTOR DE GROUSILLIERS of the town of Ludwigshafen in the Kingdom of
Bavaria, and German Empire, Chemist, do hereby declare the nature of my
Invention for RAISING AND FORCING SEWAGE AND OTHER WATERS BY MEANS OF
PUMPS DRIVEN BY ELECTRIC MOTORS" and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
My invention relates to raising and forcing sewage and other waters by means
of pumps driven by electric motors, the object of my said invention and the method
of carrying the same into effect being described in the following specification.
The systems hitherto employed for raising and forcing sewage and others waters
and fluids were based on the fluid being forced into a collective main canal or
sewer, either by means of a natural fall or incline, by compressed air or steam
pressure and theu led or forced along the same.
The first named system has many disadvantages and when the sewage of large
towns or the water from large towns is to be removed, and the more so, when
natural hinderances have to be overcome and enormous sums are required for
securing the necessary fall for the automatic flow of the sewage or other water or
waters.
The second system is better, but here the unevenness of the ground proves
very disadvantageous, a main pipe or canal must be laid for the compressed air or
steam and very often also long branch canals leading to the reservoirs from whence
the sewage or other fluid is forced into the main canal or sewer.
1. These said systems possess the disadvantage that the air or steam must be
compressed for the greatest lifting height, it being immaterial whether this is
requisite for only one reservoir or more, whereas the others require perhaps only a
third of the power so that an enormous loss of power must ensue, and besides this
a great pressure is requisite for lifting or forcing the fluid mass to any considerable
height and gives rise to great inconveniences.
2. The mechanical arrangements and the main delivery pipe for the compressed
air or steam must correspond with the maximum power requisite but this is only in
reality necessary for a few hours during the day and this renders the outlay so
considerable.
3. The costs of the mechanical arrangements do not increase in arithmetical
proportion to its size, but progressively. If for instance a town with 30,000
inhabitants requires a main pipe of 10 centimetres diameter for the supply of
compressed air or steam, a town of 120,000 inhabitants will require a pipe of
20 centimetres diameter, consequently the cost of such sewage district will be
increased by the increased cost of the larger service pipe.
4. It is very difficult if not impossible to correctly control deep laying pipes,
tubes or canals and to ascertain where a leakage or stoppage has taken place. If
for instance the service for the compressed air should become leaky, it is not
possible to speedily find the leaky point and repair the damage, consequently it
must be apparent that this system possesses enormous disadvantages. It is quite
a different affair when my system of pumps, provided with a suitable number of

page_text: accumulators and all operated from one main, is employed and when the sewage
or other fluid out of the other dićtricts is forced into one or main delivery pipes or
canals.
My improved system possesses the following advantages:
1. The mode of supplying the electrical energy by means of overhead wires
is very cheap, can be readily branched off and readily controlled, and more
especially so, as each pumping system can be provided with a device for auto-
matically signalling the main station when one of the pumps should get out of
order.
2. The mechanical arrangements need only be calculated for the mean or
average power required as the accumulators store up the surplus power and give
out the same when necessary and besides this each pumping system consumes only
the electrical force corresponding to the foregoing power required.
3. In consequence of the readiness with which the transmission of electrical
energy can be branched off the system can be readily accommodated to all kinds
of ground and all advantages offered by the same taken into account. It is not
necessary with this system, that all the pumps should force into one main as in
many cases the sewage or other fluid can be forced into pipes which have sufficient
fall to carry off the said sewage or other fluid without having recourse to
mechanical pressure.
It will be evident from the foregoing that the costs of providing towns with
sewage works or for canalising in general will be considerably reduced by employing
my said system. The practical execution is effected in the following manner :-
In the collecting shaft or reservoir of each district I arrange one or more
dynamo machines for driving one or a series of pumps for raising the sewage or
other fluid and forcing the same into the delivery pipe or canal. As soon as the
sewage or other fluid in the collecting shaft or reservoir has reached a certain
level, a swimmer valve will close the contact between the dynamo-machine and
the main station. The dynamo-machine now commences to act, sets the pumps
or pump in operation and pumps out the shaft, pit or reservoir. The swimmer
will now sink and will in consequence of this said sinking, break the contact
and set the dynamo, or dynamo machines out of operation until the said
swimmer again rises and closes the current. Should a dynamo become defective
the sewage or other fluid will rise and with it the swimmer until it reaches a
signalling device by means of which the main station is notified that the dynamo
machine in question is not in working order.
It will be evident from the foregoing specification that my said improved
system for raising and forcing sewage and other waters by means of electrical
energy can be modified in various ways without departing from the tenor of my
invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
The described process or system of raising and forcing sewage and other waters
by means of pumps driven by electrical energy from a main or central station,
which said pumps are automatically put into and out of operation and are so
arranged that they will automatically signal when they are not in working order,
substantially as and for the purpose set forth in the foregoing specification.
GEO. DOWNING,
Agent for Applicant.