IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF REGULATING INTERMITTENT FILTRATION OF SEWAGE AND IRRIGATION, AND IN APPARATUS FOR THAT PURPOSE
Year: 1872

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Bailey Denton, of Whitehall Place, in the
County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, and Rogers Field, of Cannon
Row, Westminster, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF REGULATING
INTERMITTENT FILTRATION OF SEWAGE AND IRRIGATION, AND IN APPARATUS
FOR THAT PURPOSE."
Sealed the 13th August 1872, and dated the 11th March 1872.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Bailey Denton
and Rogers Field at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents,
with their Petition, on the 11th March 1872.
We, JOHN BAILEY DENTON, of Whitehall Place, in the County of
5 Middlesex, Civil Engineer, and ROGERS FIELD, of Cannon Row, West-
minster, in the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare
the nature of our said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF

page_text: REGULATING INTERMITTENT FILTRATION OF SEWAGE AND IRRIGATION, AND IN
APPARATUS FOR THAT PURPOSE," to be as follows:-
The cleansing of water rendered foul by mixture with sewage or other
substances is sometimes effected by causing a quantity of the foul
liquid to be distributed over land prepared by under drainage for its
complete absorption and discharge after it has filtered through a requisite
quantity of soil. In such cases the quantity of liquid supplied to the
land requires to be regulated independently of the ordinary flow or
delivery, which may be variable. And in like manner when irrigating
land by sewage or water it is frequently desirable to determine the
amount of liquid to be distributed at each application.
This Invention relates to a method of regulating automatically the
quantity of liquid discharged over a given area of land, and to apparatus
for effecting such automatic regulation. For this purpose the liquid is
allowed to flow into a tank of such capacity that when it is full it holds
the quantity which it is desired to deliver to a given area of land at one
time. This tank is provided with a syphon outlet, which comes into
action when the liquid in the tank has reached the proper level. When
this is the case the contents flow out of the tank by the syphon until the
level of the liquid in the tank comes down to the inlet mouth of the
syphon, when the discharge ceases. The tank can then again be filled
and the discharge is repeated, and the liquid applied either to the same
land or to other areas or beds as may be desirable.
When the liquid dealt with consists of sewage, or is mixed with
solid matter in suspension, it is preferred to provide a deposit or strain-
ing tank or vessel into or through which the liquid first flows, and
wherein a portion of its solid ingredients is deposited and retained for
a time, the outflow from this tank being into the regulating tank first
described.
It is frequently desirable to employ more than one regulating tank
with its connected deposit or straining tank or vessel, supplying them
successively or alternately with the liquid to be delivered to the land.
When this arrangement is adopted the discharge of liquid by the syphon
can be made to work a valve or sluice, or valves or sluices, to divert the
flow of liquid from one tank to another.
Such discharge of liquid may also be made to work valves or sluices

page_text: From the above description it will be seen that the said tank or tanks
with self-acting discharge apparatus will act as a meter or as meters for
supplying land with a definite quantity of sewage or water.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Bailey Denton and Rogers Field in the Great
Seal Patent Office on the 10th September 1872.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, JOHN
BAILEY DENTON, of Whitehall Place, in the County of Middlesex,
Civil Engineer, and ROGERS FIELD, of Cannon Row, Westminster, in
the County of Middlesex, Civil Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of March, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, in
the thirty-fifth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto us, the said John Bailey Denton and
Rogers Field, Her special licence that we, the said John Bailey Denton
and Rogers Field, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as we, the said John Bailey Denton and Rogers Field, our
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 METHOD OF REGULATING INTERMITTENT FILTRATION
OF SEWAGE AND IRRIGATION, AND IN APPARATUS FOR THAT PURPOSE," upon
the condition (amongst others) that we, the said John Bailey Denton
and Rogers Field, our executors or administrators, by an instrument
in writing under our or their hands and seals, or under the hand
and seal of one of us or them, should particularly describe and ascer-
tain 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

page_text: 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 John Bailey Denton, on behalf
of myself and the said Rogers Field, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement thereof, reference being had to the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings, and to the figures and letters marked thereon,
that is to say :-
This Invention relates to a method of regulating automatically the
quantity of liquid to be applied by way of irrigation to land, or to be
filtered through land intermittently, and to apparatus for effecting such
automatic regulation and discharge. For this purpose the liquid as it
is discharged in a variable quantity or otherwise is allowed to flow into a
tank of such capacity that when the liquid rises to a given level it holds
the quantity which it is desired to deliver to a certain area of land at one
time. This tank is provided with a syphon outlet, which. is brought into
action as soon as the liquid in the tank rises to the given level. When
this is reached the liquid flows out of the tank through the syphon
until the level of the liquid in the tank has fallen to the inlet mouth of
the syphon, when air is drawn or admitted into the syphon, and the
discharge ceases. The liquid flowing into the tank will then refill it
slowly or quickly, according to the rate of influx, till the given level is
reached, when the discharged will be repeated, and the liquid can be
applied either to the same area of land or to another area as may be
desired..
It will be seen that the quantity of liquid discharged at each action
of the syphon is that contained in the space between the given level to
which the liquid will rise and the level of the inlet mouth of the syphon.
Thus by determining the capacity of the tank between these levels the
quantity of liquid discharged is regulated. A space may be formed in
the tank below the inlet or inner mouth of the syphon to serve for the
settlement or precipitation and collection of any solid matter held in
suspension by the liquid.
When the liquid dealt with consists of sewage it is preferred to provide
an intercepting or straining chamber, or tank, or vessel into or through
which the liquid first flows, and wherein the coarser portion of its solid

page_text: ingredients is intercepted, the overflow from this chamber being into the
meter tank first described. This chamber, tank, or vessel may either
be distinct from or may be attached to the meter tank.
If chemicals
or other materials are mixed with the sewage to effect precipitation and
clarify it, this intercepting chamber may be enlarged and increased in
depth so as to form a deposit tank or receptacle for the deposit composed
of the sewage and the additional chemicals or other materials, its
capacity being fixed according to the quantity of solid matter it is
desired to precipitate and consolidate, and the purpose to which the
precipitated matter is to be applied. The same object may be attained
by increasing in depth the space in the meter tank below the inlet
mouth of the syphon, so as to form a receptacle for such deposit or
precipitated matter. In this case the space above the inlet mouth of
the syphon will be occupied by clarified liquid which will be discharged
by the syphon as already described, a strainer being placed immediately
round the inlet mouth of the syphon to prevent any of the precipitated
matter in the space below the inlet mouth from being drawn out through
the syphon with the clarified liquid; and the precipitated matter when
collected may be drained and consolidated and removed, while the foul
liquid to be applied and cleansed is transferred to another meter tank
adjoining or near the tank to be emptied of solid material.
When the flow of the liquid into the meter tank is variable, so that
the minimum flow is small in comparison with the maximum, there is
difficulty in bringing the syphon into action with such minimum flow in
consequence of the liquid, when the tank is full, running through the
syphon without fully charging it so as to expel the air from it. We
adopt different methods of overcoming this difficulty according to the
circumstances.
One method of bringing the syphon into action is so to arrange the
outlet end of the syphon that it may be constantly covered by liquid.
Then as soon as the liquid commences to run over it will carry air with
it out of the syphon, and as none can return in consequence of the
outer end of the syphon being sealed by the liquid, the air will gradually
be exhausted till the syphon becomes fully charged with liquid, when
action will ensue.
Another method of producing action is instead of a single syphon to
use two or more syphons of smaller size, whereby a less rise of liquid is
required in the tank to charge the syphons. These syphons may either be

page_text: separate or connected at the crown or bend, and of the same or different
sizes, and their outer ends may either be covered by the liquid or not, but
preferably the former. It will also sometimes be advisable to place the
crowns or bends of the syphons at different levels.
Another method of bringing the syphon or syphons into action is to
adopt the special apparatus hereafter described and shown on the accom-
panying Drawings.
Other appliances will effect the same object as the syphon, such as a
balance sluice, or a float left acting upon a sluice or plug, which when
the sewage rises to the given level will draw up a flap valve or plug and 1
let out the liquid, falling into its place again directly the tank is emptied
of the liquid.
Figure 1 shews a section of an automatic sewage meter tank con-
structed according to our Invention. The liquid first enters into a sluice
chamber F, with overflow as shewn, from whence it can be diverted at
pleasure by means of a sluice or sluices into the meter tank G; or if there
be more than one meter tank, into any one of them that may be desired.
From the sluice chamber the liquid passes into an intercepting chamber H
in which the coarser portion of the solid matter contained in the liquid will
be retained and deposited, and whence the clarified liquid passes into the
meter tank G, which is provided with a syphon outlet A, B, C. As soon
as the liquid rises in the tank to a certain height above the crown B of
the syphon the air is'expelled from the syphon, which is thus brought
into action. The syphon then discharges the liquid from the tank until
the level of the liquid has fallen to the inlet mouth A of the syphon,
when air is drawn and the discharge ceases. The outlet end C of the
syphon discharges into a small chamber D, by means of which this end
of the syphon can be kept constantly covered by liquid or only covered
during the action of the syphon, as may be desired. From this chamber
the liquid flows into the delivering conduit. The solid matter deposited
in the chamber H is removed from time to time. The chamber D may
be dispensed with, and the outlet end of the syphon left uncovered by
liquid when desired.
When chemicals or other materials are used for effecting precipita-
tion the intercepting chamber H may be enlarged and deepened so as

page_text: to form a deposit tank or receptacle for the precipitated matter, which
may be drained, consolidated, and removed in the manner hereinafter
described.
Figure 2 shews a section of another sewage meter tank G¹ with special
provision for precipitated matter below the inlet mouth of the syphon.
In this case no intercepting chamber is required, but the liquid flows
from the sluice chamber Finto a small mixing or distributing chamber H³,
which may be used for mixing chemicals or other matters with the
liquid, or simply for distributing the flow of the liquid so that it may
enter the meter tank quietly and not disturb the precipitation. The
meter tank is deepened so as to consist of two portions, one above and
the other below the inlet mouth A of the syphon A, B, C. The portion.
of the tank above the inlet mouth holds the clarified liquid which is
discharged at each action of the syphon; the portion below the inlet
.mouth forms a receptacle for the precipitated matter, which is removed
when desired by means of a sluice or other opening (not shown on
section), special provision being made for the drainage and consolidation
of the precipitated matter by means of a false bottom with filtering
materials under it, or other arrangement which will allow of the liquid
detained in the bottom of the tank with the precipitated matter passing
away into a well, from which it may be raised and added to the liquid
under treatment, leaving the precipitated matter to consolidate.
Figure 3 shews a section, and Figure 4 a sectional elevation of one kind
of special apparatus which we adopt for bringing the syphon into action..
C is the outlet end of the syphon, and I a tipping cup or vessel with
counterbalance weight attached to it, so arranged that when no liquid is
passing through the syphon the cup I stands as shewn by the full lines;
but when liquid dribbles through the syphon the cup gradually fills till
it overbalances the counterbalance weight, and falls into the position
shewn by the dotted lines, thus discharging a considerable portion of the
liquid it contains, and uncovering the end of the syphon. This sudden
lowering of the liquid which had previously covered the outlet end of
the syphon will cause it to be brought into action.
Figure 5 shews an elevation of another kind of special apparatus which
we adopt for bringing the syphon into action. C is the outer leg of the
main syphon, and J, K, L, a small auxiliary syphon, its inlet end J
being connected with the main syphon in the meter tank, and its outlet

page_text: end L discharging into the same chamber as the main syphon, which
chamber is so arranged as to keep the ends of both syphons constantly
covered by liquid; M is a tube connecting the auxiliary syphon with
the crown of the main syphon, which is placed above that of the
auxiliary syphon, so that no liquid can flow through the former until the
latter is charged. In consequence of the small size of the auxiliary
syphon a very small flow of liquid will bring it into action, when by
means of the connecting tube M it sucks the air out of the main syphon,
and thus brings this into action also.
The outlet end of the syphon may either be bell-mouthed as shown on
Figure 3, or square as shown on Figure 5; or the outlet end may be
bevilled off so as to form a sharp edge.
It is frequently desirable to use more than one meter tank with its
connected intercepting and deposit chambers or receptacles, supplying
them successively or alternately with the sewage or other liquid to be
cleansed. When this arrangement is adopted the discharge of liquid by
the syphon or other apparatus can be made to work a valve or sluice, or
valves or sluices, so as to divert the incoming sewage or other liquid from
one tank to another, or the outgoing effluent from one plot of land to
another, or both. This may be effected either by causing the liquid, as
it flows from the syphon, to act upon a small water wheel or turbine
connected by gearing to the valve or sluice, or valves or sluices, so that
the rotation of the water wheel shall effect the required movement of
the valve or sluice; or the liquid may be made to fall into a cup con-
nected with one end of a balance lever, the other end of which is
connected directly or by other levers or gearing to the valve or sluice, so
that the movement of the lever consequent upon the weighting of the
cup end by means of the liquid shall effect the required movement of
the valve or sluice. Or the valves or sluices may be moved by a float
acted upon by the rise and fall of the liquid in the meter tank, and
connected to the valves or sluices by suitable levers or gearing.
From the foregoing description it will be seen that the said tank or
tanks with self-acting discharge apparatus and intercepting and deposit
tanks or receptacles will act as a meter or meters for supplying land
with a definite quantity of liquid, pure or foul, and in the latter case as
a means of separating the solid matter from the liquid, holding it in
suspension.

page_text: Having thus described the nature of our said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that
we do not claim the hercin-before described contrivances for bringing
the discharge syphon into action, nor do we limit ourselves to the use of
such contrivances, as other devices may be employed for this purpose;
but what we claim is,
First. The method of regulating automatically the quantity of liquid
discharged over land by causing the liquid first to flow into a tank of
such capacity that when it is filled to a given level it holds the quantity
which it is desired to deliver to a certain area of land at one time, from
which tank, when filled to such level, the liquid is automatically dis-
charged on to the land, substantially as herein described.
Second. The use of apparatus for regulating automatically the quantity
of liquid discharged over land, consisting of a tank into which the
liquid is caused to flow, and from which, when the liquid has risen to a
given level, a definite quantity of such liquid is discharged automatically
by means of a syphon or syphons or other equivalent contrivance, sub-
stantially as herein described.
Third. The use in combination with such aforesaid apparatus of a
deposit or straining tank or vessel for separating a portion of the solid
matter from the liquid passing into the regulating tank, substantially
as herein described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Bailey Denton, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Ninth day of September, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
two.