IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SEWERS AND IN THE MEANS OF DISCHARGING THE CONTENTS THEREOF
Year: 1857

page_text: ETTERS PATENT to James Long, of Gorleston, Yarmouth, in the County
of Norfolk for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF
SEWERS AND IN THE MEANS OF DISCHARGING THE CONTENTS THEREOF."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Long at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 31st December
1857.
1
I, JAMES LONG, of Gorleston, Yarmouth, in the County of Norfolk, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
CONSTRUCTION OF SEWERS, AND IN THE MEANS OF DISCHARGING THE CONTENTS
THEREOF," to be as follows:
This Invention consists in constructing sewers partly of brickwork and
partly of metal, and in combining therewith an iron grating or series of
gratings adjoining each other, and extending throughout the entire length of
the sewer, said grating being placed within the sewer at a suitable distance
from the bottom thereof, thus dividing the sewer into two parts, the upper
part being intended to accumulate the solid portions of that which enters the
sewer, and the 'lower: part the fluid portions. It is proposed to have 'openings
made through the arched crown of the sewer, 'at suitable distances asunder;
for introducing scrapers, which may be worked by machinery or by hand, for

page_text: cleansing the gratings and removing the deposits thereon from time to time,
as also for ventilation. It is also proposed to support the sewer upon piers of
brickwork built at suitable distances apart, on which to rest the flanges of the
ironwork of the sewer.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said James Long in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
14th June 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
LONG, of Gorleston, Yarmouth, in the County of Norfolk, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her Most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of December, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twenty-first year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said James Long, Her special licence that I, the said James Long,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said James
Long, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time, and at all times thereafter during the
term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION
OF SEWERS, AND IN THE MEANS OF DISCHARGING THE CONTENTS THEREOF," upon the
condition (amongst others) that I, the said James Long, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of
their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed,
and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said James Long, 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,
that is to say:
In the methods at present generally adopted for carrying off sewerage no
provision is made for separating the solid matters from the purely liquid
portion, so as to utilize it, at least not during the passage of the sewerage
along the sewers, drains, or pipes, and hence it is accumulated at the outfall

page_text: of the drains, or at particular points along their course. In the first case the
accumulation of the matter is so great as to render the separation and
deodorization almost impossible, and in the latter causing often great damage
from the stoppage of the sewers or pipes at the point where the accumulation
takes place.
The purport of my Invention is to remedy these defects in the present
system, and produce not only a more perfect system, but enable the sewerage
to be more easily collected and utilized. I propose to effect these by arrange-
ments which will permit the solid matter to be easily deposited along the
general course of the sewer, and generally as soon after leaving its source as
possible, while the purely liquid portion is carried easily away, and either dis-
tributed over land as a manure, or conveyed into reservoirs and deodorized,
or into rivers, or any other way.. I propose also to construct, certain means
by which easy access can be. had to any part of the sewers, so as to allow
certain mechanical combinations to withdraw and collect the solid matters
deposited in the sewers.
The Invention then consists in the mode of constructing and arranging the
sewers, pipes, drains, or tubes for containing and carrying off the sewerage,
and in certain mechanical contrivances which I make use of for collecting and
withdrawing the solid matters from the said sewers, pipes, or drains.
First, with regard to the construction of sewers, pipes, and drains for the
sewerage of towns, or for districts where it is wished to remove the liquid
portions away and leave the solid portion: in this case I construct the
sewer, or drain, or pipe so that it is divided into two compartments, an upper
and a lower, the bed or bottom of the upper one forming the top or cover of
the under one. This middle partition may either be of cast or corrugated
iron, or of brick or tiles, according to the size and kind of sewer in question,
and it is perforated with small holes or slits either in the direction of its
length or accross, the object of this arrangement, and the middle partition with
the perforations or slits being to allow the liquid portion to fall through, and
the solid portion or silt or sludge to remain in the upper compartment, from
whence it can be removed by means of apparatus herein-after described, while
the liquid or thin portion is carried away in the under' compartment. Should
a change take place in the level of the drain, a break may be made, so as to
bring the surface of the bed of the lower compartment in the higher part of
the drain into a line with the surface of the bed in the high compartment in
the lower portion of the drain, so that in some cases the liquid portion of the
sewerage may receive a second filtration, and hence be almost wholly robbed
of all the solid portions of matter. In some cases and in some drains I

page_text: propose to have a slot or narrow passage running along the top, to enable the
after-described apparatus for withdrawing the silt to work. This slot may in
brick drains be of cast iron, or it may be formed in clay tubes when they are
made, and when not in use may be covered over with an iron cover made to
fit it. It is not intended that this slot when adapted should run in every tube,
but it may be in every third or fourth one. Manholes or openings should
also be left at proper distances apart, in order that ingress may be had both
for ventilation and for cleaning and removing the silt, and for repairing when
required.
'The next part of my Invention relates to tubes or drain pipes of a somewhat
different form, and generally of smaller diameters than those mentioned before.
The object intended to be effected with these is to collect within them the solid
portion of the sewage, and allow the liquid portion to pass away into the surround-
ing earth. These kinds of pipes or tubes are more applicable for distributing
sewerage over farm lands; their construction is as follows The tubes may
generally be formed of one piece, and of any length from three to "twelve feet
or more; but every fourth or fifth one when laid should be made in two pieces.
The one end of each tube is formed with a socket, the other plain, and so that
it will fit into the socket of the succeeding or preceeding tube.
Along the
outer sides of all the tubes is a flange, which serves to give great strength to
the tube, and in those tubes which are in two halves it forms a rabbet, the one
half lying on the one side of the joint, the other on the other side. The
bottoms of the tubes are perforated, or have slits along or accross them, so that
the solid matter may be deposited, and the liquid filter through into the
surrounding earth. Or should it not be wished that the liquid portion should
escape into the earth, then the tubes may be so constructed that a perforated
metallic or earthenware shelf can be placed in the middle, so as to separate
the solid from the purely liquid portion, being conveyed away by the same
tubes to any required distance. The pipes which are made jointed in two
halves may have a cramp or fastening easily attached to the flanges before
described. Although these tubes have been described as having their bases
perforated, where it is not wished to have the solid portion separated from
the liquid, then the pipes may be made in the ordinary manner without
perforations. In this case I propose to collect the whole sewerage into tanks,
that is, they may be made of galvanized iron, having their sides and ends
perforated, and of a truncated wedge form, with close-fitting lids or covers,
the sides intersecting with pipes or tubes conveying the sewerage; when made
of bricks they should be perforated, so as to allow the liquor to pass through
into the adjoining earth.

page_text: In order more clearly to illustrate the fore-mentioned description, the
accompanying Drawings are appended to this Specification, but it is not
intended that the various Figures therein are to indicate the exact figure,
form, or size of the pipes, tubes, or drains, all of which will vary slightly
according to the quantity of sewage to be conveyed, and also to the position
and locality of the place, and the way in which the sewerage is to be made
use of.
Figures 1 and 2 are sectional elevations of brick or stone sewers of two
compartments, the middle partition being in the former Figure, made of
perforated iron, in the latter a perforated brick arch a, supported in both
cases by the shelves or brackets at the sides. When the sewers are of great
width the iron partition may be supported on cross girders laid at proper
distances apart.
'
Figure 2 is a section of Figure 1, longitudinally shewing the arrangement
when a change takes place in the level of the two drains, as described in the
commencement of the Specification, the middle partition a of the under part
of the sewer coming on a level with the bed of the upper part of the
drain, so as to have the effect of a second time filtring the liquid portion.
Figures 3 and 4 are sections, shewing the application of other forms of
drains, the one oval and the other circular.
Figures 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, shew views of the tubes or pipes described in the
second part of the Specification relating thereto; Figure 5 being an elevation,
shewing the bottom with the perforations or slits, in this case made accross the
tube; Figure 6, a similar elevation, shewing a side view of the pipe; in both
cases the flange b is seen. Figure 7 is a plan of the one half of the pipe,
shewing the socket e, the flange b, and the perforations in the bottom.
Figure 8 is a perspective view of three of the tubes shewn in their position,
and joined one to the other.
Figure 10 shews a general arrangement for a street having the main
sewer A, with the side drains emptying into it.
Figure 11 is a perspective view of a reservoir or tank of perforated iron,
such as described in the latter part of the Specification.
The next part of my Invention relates to the means used for collecting and
removing the solid matter when deposited in the sewers or pipes above
described, and consists of a rotating scraper, which will be best understood by
referring to the Figures in the Drawing, wherein Figures 12 and 13 shew the
two main parts of the scraper detached. It will be seen that if the two
parts a and b be attached to cach other, so that the plane of a shall be at
right angles to the plane of b, the resulting form will be that shewn at

page_text: Figure 14. If now the combination shewn at Figure .14 be centered so as to
rotate upon the point o in such a manner that the plane of the part b shall be,.
when at the extreme part of the rotation, horizontal, and when at the other.
extreme vertical; this will represent the action of the scraper.
The form
shewn at Figure 14 is mounted upon a spindle, as at Figure 15, so that it
will turn a quarter of a circle. If now the apparatus, when thus mounted,
be urged in the direction of the arrow shewn in Figure 16, then the part b,
being in a horizontal plane, will not be opposed by anything in a pipe or
tube lying below it; but when the direction is reversed, and the scraper is
drawn in the direction of the pipe, as shewn by the arrow in Figure 15, then.
the part a being vertical will be met by the silt or mud in the pipe, and will
withdraw it. It will be evident that the spindle or shaft may be made of
any length by adding new lengths of spindle; also that there may be any
number of scrapers mounted upon the same spindle.
Figure 17 shews the scraper above described, mounted upon a jointed.
spindle, so that it may accommodate itself to drains of different levels, by
either mounting or descending in them. There is a joint at each spindle,
and the joint preferred is what is called a rule joint, but any joint will
answer.
Figure 18 shews another form of scraper, slightly differing from the former,
in so far that the part a, in the last described, is of a spiral form, whereas in
the Figure in question it is circular, but I do not prefer this form.
Figure 19 shews another form, which may be used where strength is
required, as, for instance, cleaning out cesspools and reservoirs. In this case
the part bis square, but acts similar to the last.
Figures 20 and 21 are the sectional elevation and plan of another form of
scraper, this spindle arrangement differing slightly from the others, in so far
that this one is composed of three plates, two of wood on the outsides, and
an inner one of sheet iron. It will be observed that the top of the scraper is
covered, to prevent it from getting clogged up; its form will be understood
from the Drawing.
Having now described my Invention, and in what manner the same is
to be effected, I now state that those principles and arrangements which
I claim as new, and wish, secured by the before in part recited Letters Patent,
are,-
First, the method of seperating the liquid from the solid portions of the
sewerage, as described and set forth in the Drawings and Specification under
the various heads.
Second, the means of withdrawing the said solid matters from the drains,

page_text: pipes; or tubes, when so deposited, by the use of scrapers of this form and
action as shewn in the said Drawings, and more fully described in the
Specification.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Long, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Seventh day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Witness,
JAMES WRIGHT,
10, Alfred Place,
Newington Causeway,
London.
JAMES LONG. (L.S.)