Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 17th July, 1888
Complete Specification Left, 20th Sept., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted. 26th Oct., 1888
I THOMAS CRAPPER of Marlboro Works Marlborough Road Chelsea in the County
of Middlesex, Sanitary Engineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be
as follows:-
This invention relates to that class of sanitary traps employed for disconnecting
the main sewage drains from the ordinary house drain, and has for its object
affording greater facility for obtaining access to the interior of such traps in the
event of their becoming stopped by the accidental accumulation of any solid or
foreign matters therein.
It has been found in practice that when the disconnecting traps at present in
use become choked or stopped from the causes before mentioned they are difficult
of access for clearing, since they are situated at the bottom of an inspection
chamber some distance beneath the surface of the ground in which chamber a
quantity of sewage collects when the trap becomes choked, and has to be baled or
pumped out before the trap can be reached.
•
Now my invention is designed to overcome this difficulty and to render the trap
easily accessible for clearing purposes, and consists in providing the upper part
thereof with a suitable valve actuated either from the top of the chamber by a
pull or other convenient arrangement, or automatically by means of a float. Should
the trap become choked or stopped and sewage collect in the inspection chamber,
the valve is opened, when the collected sewage passes through the valve and flows
away into the main drain, thus emptying the inspection chamber and rendering
the interior of the trap easily accessible for clearing in the usual manner.
1000

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Disconnecting Traps for Sanitary Purposes.
I THOMAS CRAPPER of Marlboro' Works, Marlborough Road Chelsea in the County
of Middlesex, Sanitary Engineer 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 :-
This Invention relates to that class of sanitary traps employed for disconnecting
the main sewage drains from the ordinary house drains and has for its object
affording greater facility for obtaining access to the interior of such traps in the
event of their becoming choked or stopped by the accidental accumulation of
sewage or any solid or foreign matters therein.
It has been found in practice that when the disconnecting traps at present in
use become choked or stopped from the causes before mentioned, they are difficult
of access for clearing since they are situated at the bottom of an inspection
chamber some distance beneath the surface of the ground in which chamber the
sewage collects when the trap becomes choked and has to be baled or pumped
out before the trap can be reached necessitating great labour loss of time and
inconvenience.
Now my invention is designed to overcome this difficulty and to render the trap
easily accessible for clearing purposes. It consists in providing the upper part of the
trap (which has hitherto been closed) with a suitable valve actuated either from the
top of the inspection chamber by a pull or other convenient arrangement or auto-
matically by means of a float. Should the trap become choked or stopped and sewage
collect in the chamber, the valve is opened which allows the collected sewage to pass
through the valve and flow away into the main drain thus emptying the inspection
chamber and rendering the interior of the trap easily accessible for clearing in the
usual manner.
In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a vertical section of a disconnecting
trap and inspection chamber illustrating the simplest mode of carrying out my
invention.
A is the disconnecting trap of earthenware placed as usual in a bedding of cement
concrete or other suitable material. B is the inspection chamber, provided with the
usual lid or cover which I have not considered it necessary to illustrate. C is the
valve situate at the upper part of the trap which valve may be of any suitable con-
struction & material, (though I prefer the arrangement hereinafter described) and
fixed into the earthenware collar or socket by means of air tight jointing. This
valve is actuated from the top of the chamber either by a pull D or automatically
by means of a float as will be readily understood. A stop or projection E is
provided on the pull for preventing the valve from being lifted out of its seat.

page_text: F is the usual passage for affording access to the main drain by means of the
hand hole G which is provided with a cover G¹ screwed or otherwise secured and
made air tight therein. Although any suitable form of valve may be employed for
effecting the object of my invention, I prefer to adopt the following simple con-
struction which I have found most advantageous in practice.
Fig. 2 is an elevation of the valve with the seating in section and the trap shewn
broken away.
Fig. 3 is a plan of the underside of the valve.
Fig. 4 is a group of the parts detached.
The usual grating in the valve seat and the long spindle working therethrough are
dispensed with and an open circular seating of an ✓ section is employed thus
affording a clear way for the passage of the sewage. This valve consists of a central
spindle a having a plate 6 cast thereon a short distance from its lower extremity
against the underside of which plate and threaded upon the spindle a is the ordinary
leather or indiarubber disc c. A loose plate d of slightly smaller diameter than the
plate b in order to fit inside the valve seating (and having cast or otherwise formed
around its circumference two three or more dependent fingers or guides e for guiding
the valve and maintaining it in position upon the seat f) is also threaded upon the
central spindle a and the parts are securely held in position by means of a nut. The
metal seating for the valve is placed in a flanged opening as usual its upper edge
being by preference chamfered off on the inner side to assist the fingers or guides in
entering the same and to ensure the leather or indiarubber c being in perfect contact
therewith. a¹ (fig. 4) is a continuation of the central spindle which serves as the core
for the weight g (indicated in dotted lines) for keeping the valve closed upon its seat.
h is an eyelet for attaching the actuating rod or chain.
When the trap becomes choked or stopped and the sewage collects in the inspection
chamber the valve is lifted by means of the pull D which allows the collected
sewage to pass through the valve into the passage F and flow away to the main drain
thus quickly emptying the inspection chamber B and affording ready access to the
interior of the trap by means of the hand hole G and the open part H. The trap can
then be cleared in the ordinary manner.
By the use of the valve above described it will be readily seen that when the valve
is opened little or no obstruction is offered to the passage of the sewage since the
usual cross bar and spindle therein are dispensed with the dependent fingers acting
also as a vertical grating and preventing any large foreign bodies from gaining access
to the valve thereby preventing any possibility of stopping the outlet of the trap. It
will be obvious that in lieu of placing the valve on the trap itself it may if desired be
placed on a separate pipe in communication therewith or with the drain, but I prefer
the arrangement before described.
In disconnecting traps as beretofore constructed the sewage is caused to flow
through a conduit or passage of uniform round or circular cross section. Now I have
found in practice that this arrangement does not permit the sewage to pass through
the trap as expeditiously as is desirable and in order to remedy this defect I so con-
struct the lower thoroughfare of the trap as that its shape in cross section shall
approximate to that of an egg the apex or smaller end being disposed at the bottom,
the distance from side to side of the thoroughfare being also reduced in order to con-
centrate the mass of sewage and quicken its flow, see figure 7 which represents a cross
section of the lower thoroughfare of the trap taken along the line 1-2 in figure 1.
The open or half pipe I, figure 1, is of a half round section at the end where it is
united to the round pipe or house drain 'K (see fig. 5 which is a section on the
line 3-4 in figure 1) and at the opposite end which enters the trap it conforms
approximately to that of the small end of an egg (see figure 6 which represents a
section on the line 5-6 (fig. 1.) Figure 8 is a section taken on the line 7-8 (fig. 1)
where the round section is resumed. It will be seen that the sewage from the
house is conducted to the open pipe I by means of the usual round pipe K said
pipe I merging from the round section indicated at 3-4 into the portion of an egg
shaped section at 5-6 which egg shape is continued through the trap to the line 1-2

page_text: or thereabout (fig. 1.) from which point to the cut line 7-8 the passage gradually
merges into a round section as shewn in figure 8 near which point it is joined to the
pipe L leading to the main sewer. By thus confining or narrowing the conduit or
passage for the sewage as above described it is obvious that a much swifter flow
through the trap will be ensured by concentrating the sewage therein and the
possibility of the trap becoming choked or stopped greatly diminished. Although I
prefer to employ the peculiar formation of trap and pipes just described I lay no
claim thereto as part of this invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this inven-
tion and in what manner the same is, to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
1. The application and use to and in combination with disconnecting traps for
sanitary purposes of a suitable valve situate at the upper part thereof and provided
with any convenient arrangement whereby it may be actuated substantially as and for
the purpose specified.
2. The combination with the disconnecting trap A of the valve C suitably actuated
by a lift or pull D substantially as and for the purpose specified and illustrated by
fig. 1 of the drawings.
3. The application and use to and in combination with disconnecting traps for
sanitary purposes of the peculiar construction and arrangement of valve substantially
as and for the purpose specified and illustrated by figures 2, 3, and 4 of the
drawings.