AN AUTOMATIC GEAR FOR WORKING PNEUMATIC SEWERAGE CONDUITS
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Carl Pieper, Civil Engineer and Patent Agent, of 109-110,
Gneisenaustrasse, Berlin, S.W. Prussia, for an Invention of "AN AUTOMATIC
GEAR FOR WORKING PNEUMATIC SEWERAGE CONDUITS." A communication
from Captain Charles Thieme Liernur, of Haarlem, Holland.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Carl Pieper at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 9th August 1881.
CARL PIEPER, Civil Engineer and Patent Agent, of 109-110, Gneisenau-
strasse, Berlin, S.W. Prussia. "AN AUTOMATIC GEAR FOR WORKING PNEUMATIC
SEWERAGE CONDUITS." A communication from Captain Charles Thieme Liernur,
of Haarlem, Holland.
This Invention relates to the pneumatic sewerage system invented by me, and
carried out in different places for the removal of excremental matter from towns
by means of air-pressure.
The principal parts of this system consist in a number of district-reservoirs
moreover in the district-pipes, by which the latter communicate with the branch-
pipes leading to the closets to be evacuated, and in the "mains" leading from the
reservoirs to the engine-house from where the system is worked. These mains
comprise two pipes lying by the side of each other, one serving to convey to the
district-reservoir the vacuum produced in the engine-house, while the object of the
other one is to dispatch to the engine-house-reservoir the fecal matter collected in
the district-reservoir.
When the evacuation of the closets in a district is to take place, the cock or
valve shutting off the district-reservoir from the vacuum-pipe, .e., from the pipe
leading to the air-pump in the engine-house, is first of all opened, and when a
sufficient vacuum has been established in the reservoir it is closed again. The
cocks of the district-pipes being thereupon opened for a short while, the contents

page_text: of the closets will be blown into the district-reservoir. Finally, the cock of the
dispatch-pipe is opened, in consequence whereof the contents of the district-
reservoir are forced into the main-reservoir of the engine-house.
Hitherto these cocks have always been manipulated by hand, which causes many
inconveniencies. The object now of my Invention is to open and to close the said
cocks automatically by means of a mechanism put in motion by the difference of
pressure of the outer air and of the rarified air contained in the vacuum-pipe, this
mechanism being combined with a clock-work for regulating its working.
The Invention is represented on the annexed two Sheets of Drawings.
Fig. 1, plan of a district-reservoir with automatic gear attached.
Fig. 2, section of chamber, in which the apparatus is established on line W, X,
Fig. 1.
Fig. 3, longitudinal section of chamber and reservoir on line Y, Z, Fig. 1.
Fig. 4, front view of clock-work for controling the operation of the apparatus.
Fig. 5, plan of clock-work.
Fig. 6, end-view of clock-work, partly in section.
Fig. 7, front-view of the wheel O¹.
Fig. 8, end-view of the cylinder M with appertaining parts.
Fig. 8, an air-valve belonging to the samne in section.
Figs. 9-11, three views of a four-way cock with arrangement for rotating its
plug automatically in but one direction.
In Figs. 1 and 3, A. is the district-reservoir; B, the vacuum-pipe connecting the
said reservoir with the air-pump located in the -engine-house; and C, the dispatch-
pipe for conveying the contents of the district-reservoir to the main or engine-
house reservoir. D, E, F, and G are pipes running through the different streets of
the district, and from which branch off the pipes leading to the closets. (The
number of the pipes being marked by the letters D, E, F, and G is variable.)
The six pipes thus shown in the Drawing rise parallel to each other, close to the
back wall of the chamber. Each pipe is provided with a cock H and a vacuum-
cylinder K, the piston of which operates the plug of the cock by means of a rack
at the end of the piston-rod a gearing with a toothed sector b, which is keyed on
the plug-stem. The cylinder being open at the bottom a vacuum created in the
upper part of the same will cause the air-pressure to act from below against the
piston and to lift it. When, on the other hand, air is allowed to enter into
the cylinder from above, the piston will descend by its own weight. The cock is
.thus opened and closed by the motion of the piston.
•
For alternately establishing and neutralizing the vacuum in any one of the.
cylinders H each of them is connected by a pipe c with the two small valves ď
and e (see also Figs. 8 and 8°), of which d is in communication with the branch B¹
of the vacuum pipe B, whereas e communicates with the open air. All the valves d
and e are fixed in a row on the table L, and each of them is provided with a lever n
acted upon by pins or cams on the rotating cylinder M (see Figs. 4, 5, & 6).
According therefore as the pins or cans on the cylinder M are arranged, and the
cylinder is rotated, the cocks H will be opened or closed, and the district-reservoir
filled or emptied.
The cylinder M is driven from a spring by the medium of a worm N¹ on the
shaft O and of a worm-wheel N. The latter is keyed on the shaft M¹ of the
'cylinder M. The shaft O moreover carries the escapement-wheel Z, with which
'the escapement of the pendulum m cooperates for the purpose of regulating the
winding-off of the spring h. In the same measure however as the spring h.gives
.out its force it is wound up by a small two-cylinder vacuum-engine S, this engine
acting on the spring by the medium of the bevel-wheels R and R', the shaft Q
'provided with worm P, and the worm-wheel O', to the circumference of which the
outer end of the spring is fixed. The said spring thus serves for the transmission
' of motion from the vacuum-engine, but at the same time also for taking-up and
*neutralizing the shocks produced by the interruptions of motion of the escapement-

page_text: wheel. The vacuum-engine will thus have a continuous and easy motion in spite
of the said shocks.
The degree of rarefaction of the air in the vacuum-pipe being variable, the
apparatus requires to be provided with an arrangement by which the speed of the
engine S can be so regulated as to cause the tension of the spring to remain
approximatively uniform, and the oscillations of the pendulum to be isochronal.
This is attained in the following manner :-
P
On the worm-shaft O is fastened by means of a set-screw or otherwise, the
bush q on which the worm-wheel O' rotates. Between the latter and the said bush
the aforesaid spring his inserted, the same being fastened with one end to the
rim of O', and with the other end to the bush q. The power given out by the
engine S is thus first of all expended for winding up the spring h, and subsequently
after the spring has attained a certain degree of tension for imparting motion to
tho pendulum m and to the cylinder M. In case now the power of the engine
should become too great on account of the vacuum being too high, so that thereby
the clock-work might be unduly accelerated, the pin 8, Fig. 6 and 7, bears against
the arm r of the sleeve p placed loose on the shaft O, and partly enclosed by the
bush 4. On its outer surface the sleeve p has a helical groove, into which projects
the pin o screwed through the bush q. f is a spring which pressos the sleeve p
against the bottom of the cavity of q, and g a lever, one end of which is connected
in a suitable manner with the sleeve p, whereas with its other end it acts on a
valve or cock in the vacuum-pipe i, so that this valve or cock will be controled
by the displacement of the sleeve p. In case now the speed of the vacuum-engino
becomes too great, the pin s presses against the arm r, whereby p is rotated
relatively to q. In consequence thereof the sleeve p which is guided by the pin o,
will screw itself out of the bush q, and compress the spring f. By these means an
increased resistance is opposed to the engine, as the compression of the spring
absorbs power. At the same time, however, the lever g turns the plug of the
cock in such a manner, that the passage for the exhausting air becomes smaller.
When the speed of the engine decreases, the pressure of the pin s against the armr
diminishes, and the spring f expands. The resistance against the power of the
engine is thereby lessened, and besides, as the sleeve precedes, the area of the
passage in the cock x is increased.
The arrangement for regulating the speed of the vacuum-engine may however
be executed in different manners, and is not to form the subject matter of a claim.
In the apparatus so far described, the cylinder M would rotate continuously, and
therefore cause the evacuation of the closets to be repeated without cessation. As
a rule, however, this evacuation is to take place only once or twice a day. It is
therefore necessary to let the cylinder stop after one revolution, until its operation
is again required. For this purpose it is placed loose on the shaft M₁, and a
mechanism is provided for which couples the cylinder with the shaft at the proper
time, and which causes its disconnection after it has made one revolution. This
mechanism is represented by the Figures 4, 5, and 8.
On the shaft M' there is a coupling-part or driver ; sliding on a feather, and
adapted to rotate the cylinder by means of friction or of teeth, or of a simple pin.
Moreover, a worm-wheel T is driven by a worm on the shaft M', while on the
shaft of T is fixed a diskt provided with a tappet t' arranged so that it can press
against the projection k' of the lever k. This lever engages with its upper forked
end into tho peripherical groove of the driver j. The worm-wheel T and the disk t
make one rotation in 24 hours.
t¹
The tappet having by means of the lover & brought the driver j close to the
cylinder, the driver upon touching the pin w, will put the cylinder in motion.
When the cylinder has completed one rotation, and has thereby once opened and
closed the different cocks, the tappet t¹ leaves the projection k¹, the spring u
pushes back the lever k, together with the driver j, and the cylinder stops. For
the purpose of allowing one, two, or more evacuations of the closets to be effected

page_text: every day, two or more disks t, of which the first has one tappet t¹, the second
two, the third three, &c., are arranged close to each other, and so that they may be
shifted on the shaft. If the driver j is maintained in constant engagement with
the pin w, the evacuation of the closets takes place at every rotation of the
cylinder. Instead of acting by means of a tappet, the disk t may also be provided
with a recess, while the lever k is located on the opposite side of the disk, and
connected with the driver by suitable intermediate parts. The engagement of the
coupling or driver would then take place whenever the lever k, impelled forward
by its spring, enters with its projection k¹ into the recess of the disk.
In the described mechanism for the automatic working of pneumatic sewerage
conduits, various modifications may be introduced without causing any substantial
change in the result to be obtained. Thus the cylinder M may be driven directly
by the vacuum-engine, instead of by the medium of a spring. Moreover, the
engine may be made to work periodically, only by starting it at the desired hour
like an alarum by means of a clock work, the motion of the engine being at the
same time employed for winding the clock work up again. The engine, instead of
being of the ordinary two-cylinder system, as shown in the Drawing, may be
altered in various manners; thus, for instance, an engine with three single-acting
cylinders or a rotating engine might as well be employed for the purpose. A
further modification may be introduced in respect to the means for transmitting
motion from the engine to the cylinder M. and to the pendulum, as the worms and
worm-wheels employed may be replaced by various other combinations of wheels.
Moreover the valves d and e may be exchanged for other appliances serving for
the same purpose, and they may be acted upon by the c
-cams of the cylinder M
without the employment of levers.
Finally, the communication between the reservoir and the various pipes may be
established and interrupted by slide-valves or other equivalent devices, or if
preferred, the cocks may be altered, as shown by Figs. 9, 10, & 11. In this
arrangement, for instance, four district-pipes are to be connected with the four
branches D, E, F, and G', of a cylindrical or conical case which is in communi-
cation by a central branch U with the pipe leading to the reservoir. Inside of this
case a cylinder or plug V turns, provided with a curved passage corresponding to
the branches D¹, E¹, &c., so that each of the radial branches may be made to com-
municate with the central branch U, while the other branches are closed. For the
purpose of successively establishing communication between the radial branches
and the branch U, the cylinder requires to be rotated in one direction only, and
for effecting this also automatically, a ratchet-wheel and pall are inserted between
the pivot of the cylinder V and the spur-wheel v, operated by the piston-rod of the
vacuum cylinder k, the said ratchet-wheel and pall serving to convert the alter-
nating motion of the piston-rod into a uniformly directed rotative motion of the
cylinder V. The vacuum-cylinder k has in this case been made double acting, in
order that it may be used in a horizontal position if desired. It will easily be
conceived from the foregoing how this cock may be combined with and operated
by the automatic working-gear.
Having thus described the nature and object of this Invention, and the manner
in which it is to be carried out in practice, I hereby claim as new and important
features of the same,-
1. In combination with the vacuum-pipe B of a pneumatic sewerage system, and
with the cocks or valves H or their equivalent inserted in the different pipes, the
vacuum-cylinder or cylinders k, and the vacuum-engine S regulated by clock-work,
for the purpose of opening and closing the said cocks or valves H, substantially as
herein before described.
2. In combination with the vacuum-cylinder or cylinders k, the valves or
cocks & and e operated upon (with or without the aid of levers) by the cylinder M
provided with pins or cams, and which is rotated by the vacuum-engine S and
suitable intermediate mechanism, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

page_text: 3. In combination with the cam-cylinder M, and the mechanism for imparting
motion to the same, the disk t slowly rotated by the said mechanism, and provided
with one or more tappets or recesses, which by means of a lever k or its equivalent,
cause the coupling or driver j to be shifted periodically, so as to effect a rotation of
the cylinder M by the shaft M', as hereinbefore specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Carl Pieper, have hereunto set my hand and
soal, this Fourth day of August, in the year of our Lord One thousand
eight hundred and eighty one.